


The Haddock Twins: Riders of Berk

by Skylight369



Category: Dragons: Riders of Berk (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family Fluff, Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-06-02 11:07:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 140,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6563842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylight369/pseuds/Skylight369
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A new dragon comes to Berk that has Toothless and Midnight on the edge. What happens when the teens find out the wild dragon has a history with the two Night Furies.</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 1: How To Start A Dragon Academy**

 

**_This is Berk. For generations, it was Viking against dragon. The battles were ferocious... then one day, everything changed._ **

Berk was village that was constantly raided by dragons. In this village, killing dragons was everything. Now everything has change. There was new found peace between the two. And this is all thanks to a boy, a girl and their dragons.

**_Hicca and I met Midnight and Toothless, and together we've shown people here that instead of fighting dragons we can ride them... live with them, even train them._ **

On top of one of the sea stack were six riders Astrid, Raeda, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut along with their dragons Stormfly, Sparkfire, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch. They were joined by two more riders and their dragons.

“Okay. Another best trick competition. Who's up first?” Hiccup said as he, Toothless, Hicca and Midnight landed.

Fishlegs was about to speak up when Snotlout cut him off.

“Me!” He said pointing to himself.

“Actually, I think it's--”

“Me! I’m going first”

This annoyed Astrid greatly “Sweet baby Thor in a thunderstorm, JUST GO ALREADY!” She yelled.

Unfazed by this, Snotlout gave a smirk and started to brag “Oh, don't worry, we'll go alright. And when we go, Hookfang and I are gonna light the sky on--” Hookfang, who was getting impatient, took off without waiting for his rider to finish “-FIRE!!!!! Oh, no!” Snotlout yelled as Hookfang started performing daring stunts.

“I’m liking this trick.” Raeda said, smiling.

“I’m liking Hookfang.” Hicca said as she enjoyed the performance.

Hookfang and Snotlout then rejoined the others “I'm alive...? I'm alive!” Snotlout said with relief but as soon as he saw the others looking at him, he quickly regained his composure. “Of course I am. Because I’m awesome.”

“It's my turn! Ready, Meatlug? Let’s go girl!” Fishlegs and Meatlugs’ trick however was a bit _too_ simply. They just flew around in a circle before landing. Fishlegs didn’t seem bothered by this. “Yes, new personal best!” He said as Meatlug licked him happily.

“My turn!” Ruffnut said.

“No, _my_ turn!” Tuffnut argued, starting yet another Thorston argument.

“You tell them this time, bro.” Hicca said to Hiccup.

“Guys, same dragon, remember.” Hiccup said, before the Thorston twins got in another argument.

“Oh, right.” They then took off with their dragon, Barf and Belch, but a few seconds later they started another argument.

“Go left!”

“No, right!”

“N-no, right!”

“No, left!”  

After narrowly missing a nearby sea stack, Barf and Belch decided to take control of the flying and threw their riders high into the air, much to the riders delight “, NO! WHOA! THIS IS AWESOME AND SCARY AT THE SAME TIME! I LOVE IT! AAAH!” Tuffnut shouted in mid-air.

Their dragon caught them and took them back to the others.

“We nearly died!” Ruffnut said.

“Yeah, I know... Let’s go again!” Tuffnut asked getting excited again.

“Nope. It’s my turn guys. Let’s go Sparkfire.” Raeda said.

She and Sparkfire took off. As they flew towards one of the sea stacks, Raeda got out her bow and arrows and rapidly fired five arrows in a vertical line, all a centimetre a few centimetres apart from each other, on the sea stack. Then Sparkfire flew upwards, in a circle so that they were once again flying towards the same sea stack.

“Alright Sparkfire, now! Spine shot!” She commanded. In response, the purple Deadly Nadder fired five spines that landed right on the spot where the arrows were, causing the arrows to split.

“Good girl.” Feeling triumph, Raeda led Sparkfire back to the others. “Beat that.” She said smugly to her fellow Nadder rider.

“I got to admit Rae, that’s impressive. Our turn Stormfly. You might want to take notes.” She then turned to Hiccup. “You too, Hiccup.”

Hiccup just smiled in response. “Is that so?” Ever since Astrid apologised to both of them, they put the past behind them and started over again. And it was going well for all three of them.

“Yep.” Astrid said nodding her head.

“Hey guys, flirt with each other later. We want to see the trick!” Hicca piped in, causing the two to blush.

Without another word, Astrid took off. “Okay, Stormfly, tail flip!” Astrid commanded. Stormfly complied, flipping her tail into the water. “Now twirl!” The blue Nadder then barrel rolls, shooting forward. “Quick, upwards spiral!” They finished their routine with a spin high into the air.

“Alright, Stormfly!” Astrid praised her dragon as they came back onto the sea stacks.

“Hmm, not bad.” Raeda said nonchalantly, although she was secretly planning on practicing similar moves with her dragon.

“Yeah, but can you do it without the dragon?” Snotlout asked. Astrid responded with a punch to his shoulder. “Ow!”

Astrid then turned and gestured to the two remaining riders to go.

“Wow, we’ve got quite a competition, bro.” Hicca said, referring to Raedas’ and Astrids’ performances.

“Yeah, it looks like we've got quite a standard to meet.” Hiccup agreed.

The four of them then took off. Toothless and Midnight dived down towards the ocean. Just when it looked like they were going to hit the water, Hiccup and Hicca pulls up and they shoot forward with breakneck speed. They then come across two conjoined sea stacks. The Haddock twins shared a knowing look before getting ready. Hiccup unhooks his metal leg from the saddle and he and his sister and jumps on the bridge between the sea stacks while their dragons flew underneath. The twins then ran across the bridge and jumped back to their dragons on the other side. Toothless and Midnight wrapped up the performance by shooting plasma blasts into the sky, leaving the other teens amazed once again.

“They won again. They're still the best.” Astrid admitted, happy for them.

“Hate to admit this Astrid, but you’re right.” Raeda said, still awestruck by the performance.

“Another win. Great job, guys.” Hiccup said.

“Yep, we still got it.” Hicca said happily.

The four of them then flew back to the village.

**_Yep, dragons. Most people on Berk would say life here is better since we made peace with them. Unfortunately, dragons are still, well, dragons._ **

When the Haddock twins and their dragons landed in the village, they saw chaos.

“Bad dragon! Let go of my food! Drop it, pesky dragon! Dragons!”

“Get off my roof, you pest!”

“Let go of that! These are my apples!”

“Give me back my dainties, dragon!”

“Don’t burn that!”

Suddenly, the villagers stopped what they were doing and ran for cover.

“Incoming!”

“Look out!”

“Dragon poo!”

They ran as hundreds of dragons flew by, relieving themselves.

“Ew, gross, gross, gross, gross! Oh, poop! Oh, that's disgusting!” Hiccup said, trying to avoid being hit.

“And we just got this village cleaned.” Hicca said, covering her nose and mouth.

They backed up, bumping into Bucket and Mulch who were using shields as umbrellas.

“Hey, Mulch. Hey, Bucket. Almost good day. Sorry about the, uh--” Hiccup tried to apologise.

“Every day at 3:00. They're regular at least. A tip of the cap.” Bucket commented.

“Better than the days when it was "kill or be killed". At least we don’t have to clean blood anymore. Hey, we've got some fish for that father of yours. Bucket, give the boy the cod.” Mulch told his friend.

Bucket held out an empty sack which was torn at the bottom.

“I ate it already? Was it good? Did I enjoy it?” Bucket asked confused.

Hiccup and Hicca exchanged a look and sighed. Hiccup then tried to explain to Bucket what happened to the fish “Um, no, uh, actually, Bucket, I-I don’t think--” However, he didn’t need to explain as a Terrible Terror walks away with a cod.

 ** _Most of us here on Berk are willing to take the good with the bad. But there are those who will never accept the dragons and will do anything to drive them away_**.

At night, in a house outside the village lived an old man named Mildew who was trying to sleep. Suddenly his roof started to shake, waking him up. He went outside to investigate and saw a Gronckle sleeping on his roof.

“Dragons. I should've known.” He muttered.

He then holds up a half-eaten cabbage.

“Thinks he’s at a cabbage buffet.” He grumbled. He was definitely going to complain to the chief.

He then turns around and, to his horror, saw that a bunch of Gronckles have devoured his entire cabbage field.

“My whole field! Gone! That tears it, Fungus.” He then called to his sheep, Fungus, and grabbed his helmet, staff and sheep and started to walk towards the village with a scowl on his face.

The next day Stoick is giving orders to some of the villagers “Stand the elk up in the back. The fishing boats just came in with a big catch.”

“Stoick!” A voice called out. Seeing, who it belong to made Gobber sigh.

“Ah, here's Mildew with the complaint of the day. That is just what I wanted on this fine day.” He said sarcastically, not looking forward to whatever Mildew has to say.

“You picked a bad time, Mildew. I’m a little busy storing food. Winter is coming soon.” Stoick said, hoping to avoid talking with Mildew.

Mildew ignored that “It's the dragons again. Those demons are not fit to live among civilized men.”

“Neither are you, Mildew. Why do you think we built your house so far outside of town? I thought you got a hint.” Gobber responded.

This cause Mildew to scowl “Ah, very well, make your jokes. Meanwhile these dragons upend our village carts! Turn people's houses into piles of rubble!” This caught the nearby villagers’ attention

“Mildew's right!” One of the Vikings said, agreeing with the old man.

“They even disturb an old man's peaceful sleep! Can't you see these bags under my eyes?” Mildew said, pointing to his eyes

“Go on, Mildew!”

“He's right, he's hideous.” Gobber commented.

“These are wild and unpredictable beasts!” Mildew shouted.

“ Right you are!”

“They even cracked [this man's](http://howtotrainyourdragon.wikia.com/wiki/Bucket) skull! Completely open like an egg.” Mildew said, gesturing to Bucket.

“Eggs? I like eggs! Scrambled! Over easy! Poached!” Bucket asked, oblivious to the situation.

“You need to put those dragons in cages!” Mildew declared.

“I agree!”

“If you don't, they'll eat us out of house and home and destroy the entire village!” he warned.

The villagers yelled in agreement. Seeing this, Hiccup and Hicca tried to intervene.

“They don't do this on purpose. They're just dragons being dragons.” Hiccup said.

“Yeah, they can’t help it. They’ve been living like this for years.” Hicca added.

“Look, Mildew, if there's a problem I'll deal with it.” Stoick said, trying to diffuse the protest.

“Oh, there is a problem, Stoick. And I think I speak for everyone when I say you better do something about it soon.” The old man warned.

Back at the Haddock household, Stoick is discussing the new problem with Gobber “We can't just let dragons roam freely around this island. Hey, we could put up signs.” The chief suggested.

“Signs? For dragons? I know they are smart, but not that smart.” Gobber said.

“No, for the people.”

“Signs? For _Vikings_? We're not big readers, Stoick.”

 **“** Then we'll build a huge net and stretch it around the plaza.”

 **“** Nets? You do know they breathe fire? Hence, why we struggled to capture them when we were fighting against them?”

Stoick sighed “I know very well they breathed fire, Gobber, I have observed that. Maybe Mildew was right. We have to figure something--”

Overhearing this, the Haddock twins decided to step-in.

“No, no, wait, Dad. What if _Hicca and I_ deal with the dragons?” Hiccup said.

 _“You two?”_ Stoick asked, doubtful.

“Why do you act so surprise, dad?” Hicca asked.

“Yeah, who else? If anyone can control them, we can. We’re the ones who truly learned how to tame them. I'm the best man and Hicca is the best woman for the job.” Hiccup said confidently.

“You're not a man yet, Hiccup. And you’re not a woman yet, Hicca.”

“Well you’re not going to find out if you don’t give us the chance!” Hiccup protested.

“Don’t forget you’re talking to the same kids who took out a dragon the size of a mountain when no one else could.” Hicca reminded him.

Stoick considered that for a moment. “Fair enough, I’ll give you two a chance... starting tomorrow.” He decided.

The next day, Hicca and Hiccup immediately started their new job. They decided to split up to cover more ground.

 **“** Okay, gang, things are going to be different around here.” Hiccup announced to the dragons.

He then sees a woman trying to get rid of a Deadly Nadder that's trying to take the basket of bread she's holding.

 **“** Get out! Shoo! For the last time, get your nose out of my bread!”

‘Alright time to get started.’ Hiccup thought as he ran towards the woman and the dragon

“Hold on, I'm here to help! Just... no! Easy there.” He places his hand on the Nadder's nose, and the dragon instantly calms down.

 **“** Alright.” Hiccup said satisfied, So far so good

Suddenly, a loud crash is heard which startles the Nadder. Hiccup turns around to see a Gronckle chasing a group of chickens, knocking over carts in the process. As it runs by, the Deadly Nadder also joins the chase.

 **“** Okay... this is going to be a long day. Hopefully Hicca has a better luck than me.” Hiccup said. This may take a while

Hiccup then sees another Deadly Nadder and a Monstrous Nightmare fighting near a sheep farm, setting some unfortunate sheeps on fire and causing them to scatter in terror.

 **“** Toothless, stop that fight! I'll put out the sheep!” Hiccup told his dragon who obeyed. “Okay, okay... whoa!”

Hiccup chases the sheep into the plaza, right into the middle of even more chaos caused by the dragons, much to the other Vikings annoyance.

 **“** Get out! Get back here with my cart!”

 **“** Enough of these dragons!”

Unbeknownst to Hiccup and his sister, the rest of the dragon trainers were watching their progress from afar.

“What in the world is he doing?” Snotlout asked

“Uh, this may be a trick question but it looks like he's helping the dragons break stuff.” Tuffnut suggested.

“Cool!” Ruffnut said.

Hiccup tries to put out a flaming sheep, but the sheep refuses to stop and just hops right over him, knocking him over.

“Doesn’t look like Hicca is having a better luck.” Raeda commented as she observed Hicca struggling to keep a Monstrous Nightmare from flaming itself which was setting fire to some of the nearby villages while some Terrible Terrors were flying around with cod.

“Wow, they could really use our help.” Astrid said.

 **“** We'll get to it.” Tuffnut responded.

 **“** In a minute.” Ruffnut added.

“How long is a minute?” Raeda tested.

“An hour.” Ruffnut replied with a shrug.

Hiccup finally manages to catch one of the sheep and put out the fire.

 **“** Sorry about that.” Hiccup said.

Suddenly, hundreds of dragons begin flying over the village. That only means one thing

 **“** And... it's three o'clock.” Astrid stated

Hiccup, unfortunately, didn’t have time to duck for cover and his sister wasn’t as lucky either.

 **“** Oh, no...”

After the chaos was over and it was night, the Haddock twins were in Hiccups room resting on his bed. Both were completely exhausted from the days’ work.

 **“** Oh, everything hurts...” Hiccup groaned. He then lifts his prosthetic foot. “Even this. I never thought it would be possible, but my peg leg hurts.”

“You know, with the dragons raids now over, I thought we wouldn’t need the fire brigade for a while. Yet, I have been to every part of the village today with a bucket filled with water.” Hicca commented

 **“** Hiccup? Hicca?” Astrid called out from outside the room.

Hiccup immediately got up from his bed **“** Astrid? Perfect. I don't look _too_ beat-up, do I?” He asked.

Midnight was napping in Hiccas’ room, Hicca shrugged and Toothless gives him a pity smile.

“Oh, great. Dragon pity. That’s the icing on the cake.” Hiccup grumbled.

Astrid and Raeda then entered his room.

“Hey, Astrid. Hey, Raeda. What a nice surprise!” Hiccup said

 **“** So, what did you two do today?” Astrid asked although she and Raeda already knew how it went.

Hiccup, didn’t know that “Uh, nothing much really. Hung around the plaza... you know.” He said, trying to sound casual.

“Yeah we do know actually. [We](http://howtotrainyourdragon.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Riders) all saw both of you out there. It's hard to believe either of you are still standing.” Astrid said.

“And that neither of you are injured.” Raeda added.

Hiccup sighs in defeat and flops down onto his bed.

 **“** Ugh...! I'm gonna be seeing flaming sheep jumping around in my dreams for the next month.” He said.

“You’re not the only one bro. I saw a few flaming sheeps run by today.” Hicca said.

“Poor sheeps.” Raeda commented.

 **“** Hiccup! Hicca!”

“Hiccup, Hicca, what happened out there? The plaza looks like a war zone.”

“I know it looks bad...” Hiccup tried to explain.

“Really bad.” Astrid whispered.

“Really, really bad.” Raeda whispered.

Hiccup shot both girls a brief pleading look before he continued. “Yeah, but this is only Phase One of our master plan.”

“Oh, so you two do have a plan?” Stoick asked sceptically.

“Of course we have a plan, dad, What did you think? We were trying to wing it or something? Have a little faith.” Hicca said, keeping up the facade.

“Yes, it is a very complex plan. Lots of drawings, several moving parts, step by step plan. Yeah, it's, uh, pretty wild a-and complex.” Hiccup finished.

“How do you guys get away with things?” Raeda muttered in a low voice.

Fortunately, Stoick didn’t hear her. “Uh-huh. Well, this plan better work fast, because Mildew's rallying the entire island against the dragons. And if you two don't get those dragons under control, they'll be calling for their heads.” He warned as he left the room.

Toothless’ head shot up at the last comment. ‘They are going to chop of my head? Why? What did I do?’

“Don't worry, bud. Your head's staying where it is. We’ll make sure of it.” Hiccup said reassuringly.

“You two do realize there are, like, _a bazillion_ dragons out there and only _two_ of you?” Astrid pointed out. “I hope both of you really _do_ have a plan.”

“I hope this plan works fast.” Raeda said.

“Don’t worry, Rae. We’re usually good with improvised planning.” Hicca said.

“Usually...” Astrid repeated, getting a bit worried.

Hiccup and Hicca actually did manage to form a plan. The next day, they gathered the other dragon riders and dragons in the Arena and explained their plan.

“ _That's_ your plan? You two want us to train dragons?” Ruffnut asked in disbelief.

“ _Here?_ In the same place where we used to kill them?” Tuffnut asked.

“Right... since we don't do that anymore, this Arena hasn’t been used in a while. That's why it's available for us to use.” Hiccup explained.

“Actually, the dragons do seem a _little_ nervous being in here.” Astrid commented, noticing the way all the dragons except for Toothless and Midnight looking around the Arena with apprehension.

“That's because they're very sensitive about this place. Meatlug especially. She lost a cousin here once.” Fishlegs said, while comforting Meatlug. “We try not to talk about it.”

“Well obviously since they have been caged in here and only brought out for fights.” Raeda pointed out. “Some memories don’t fade away very fast.”

“Well, they just need some time to adjust to the Academy. Once they see that they are fine here, they’ll be better.” Hicca said.

“It's amazing your dad let us use the Arena just like that.” Astrid noted.

Hiccup suddenly became nervous. “Well, it would have been, if he actually did, yeah, but, he didn't, so that's another thing we should try not to talk about at all.”

“Especially in front of our dad.” Hicca added.

“Wait, so we're doing this without your father knowing?” Astrid asked.

“There you go, talking about it when you’re not suppose to!” Hiccup said avoiding the question. He then changed the subject. “Uh... alright. Everybody, here's the thing. The dragons are out of control and causing destruction to the village. We want them to live in our world without destroying it but they can't do it on their own. We need to step in.”

“So we need to help dragons destroy things!” Tuffnut exclaimed, completely misunderstanding Hiccup. “We can totally do that. We’re so good at it.”

Hicca tried to correct him “No, Tuffnut, that’s not what Hiccup is trying to-”

“Okay, here’s what we need to do: First, we need to rile them up.” Ruffnut said.

“No problem. We anger everybody. They’ll be angry in seconds.” Tuffnut said.

“Guys, Listen! This is very serious. Mildew is determined to get all of our dragons caged. And I don't know about you, but I do not want that to happen.” Hiccup said sternly.

“Me neither.” Hicca said.

“It was her fault!” Tuffnut said pointing to his sister. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but she is not sorry!” Ruffnut responded by shoving her twin to the ground.

Hiccup decided to continue. “Okay, then, moving on. The dragons are eating everything they can get.” Hiccup said while Hicca grabbed a loaf of bread to demonstrate. “Now, when a dragon grabs something it's not supposed to have, you can get him to drop it by giving him a little scratch just below the chin.”

Hicca held the loaf up for Midnight to take. As soon as the female Night Fury took the bread, Hicca gently scratched her chin, causing Midnight to reluctantly let go of the bread. She was actually hungry, but she did enjoy the scratch.

Snotlout, however, did not look impressed. “Maybe that works for the four of you, but Hookfang and me? We do things differently.” He then grabbed the bread and tossed it to Hookfang, who caught it in his mouth. “When I want this guy to do something for me all I do is get right in his face and-- DROP THAT RIGHT NOW MISTER! YOU HEAR ME? DROP IT!” Rather annoyed, Hookfang dropped the bread...only to take Snotlout in his mouth instead. “See? He dropped the bread without any arguments.” Snotlout said in a muffled voice. Raeda started clapping at the demonstration.

“Do you think we should get him out of there?” Tuffnut asked.

“Let me sleep on that.” Astrid replied, enjoying what she was seeing.

“Alright. We've got a lot of training to do, but together, we can keep these dragons under control.” Hiccup said.

“And with the dragons under controlled, they’ll be free from the cages and soaring sky high in no time.” Hicca said. Everyone left the Arena, filled with hope.

But they seemed to have forgotten something...

“Uh, hello? Guys? I’m still stuck here if you didn’t notice. Is anyone going to help me out here?” Snotlout asked, through Hookfangs’ mouth.

Eventually, Hookfang got bored and let his rider go and Snotlout joined the other teens later that afternoon at the plaza, looking for any dragons to tame. Surprisingly, though, the plaza looked empty.

“Huh? That’s strange, where are the dragons?” Fishlegs asked, looking around.

“Our job is too easy.” Ruffnut said.

“Anyone up for lunch?” Snotlout asked.

Hiccup turned to his twin. “If it is too quiet around here...”

“It is a very bad sign.” Hicca finished, getting a bad feeling.

As if to prove their point, and explosion was heard from a distance, followed by a thick grey cloud.

“I bet I know where the dragons are.” Raeda said.

“This way.” Astrid guided as the group made their way to the source of the cloud.

The teens arrived at the scene and they were met with the sight of angry villagers trying to keep the dragons away from the food in the food storage. To Astrid, Snotlout and Raedas’ dismay, they found their own dragons part of the food stealing group.

“The dragons have eaten every single supply of food! We've got nothing left for the freeze!” Stoick exclaimed angrily.

Mildew took that opportunity to step up. “I warned you Stoick. I told you this could happen. But did you listen to me? No. You listened to the words of _teenagers_ instead! And this is the result! Putting those beasts in cages is too much of a luxury for them.”

“No! We don’t need to cage them. This can be fixed!” Hicca argued.

“Hicca’s right, Dad, I swear. We-- we were just starting to--” Hiccup tried to say.

But Stoick wasn’t hearing any of this. “Enough, you two! How can I trust either you to keep all the dragons in line, when both you couldn't even control your own?”

He gestured to Toothless and Midnight who were digging in the basket for fishes.

“Oh, come on guys.” Hiccup said exasperated.

“Seriously not helping here.” Hicca said.

Midnight and Toothless raised their heads up and warbled apologies to their riders, before looking for more fishes. They were hungry!

Stoick sighed and turned to Bucket and Mulch. “Bucket! Mulch! Get to the boats and find some fishes to replace the inventory.”

“It's far too late for that, Stoick. We took six months to get all those fishes. We’ll never replace them in time.” Mulch said.

“Don't tell me it's too late! We've got to try or we won’t have anything at all!” Stoick replied sternly.

Mulch immediately back-pedalled. “Of course we do! We’ll never know until we try!” He then turned to Bucket. “Bucket, don't go telling the Chief it's too late. Why do you have to be so negative?”

“I don’t know why I do this to myself.”

Hiccup tried to defend the dragons. “Dad, please! You gotta listen. Hicca and I know dragons better than-”

“Not now, Hiccup. I need to solve this food crisis because of those dragons. I didn’t want to have to do this, but I have no choice. By tonight, I want every single dragon caged. Understand?”

The teens were shocked and upset about this news.

But Mildew didn’t seem satisfied with this announcement. He decided to pour salt on the wounds. “Bah! Caging the dragons? Like that has stopped them before! You need to send them away _now_!”

The teens eyes widened as the villagers agreed with Mildew.

“Stoick, Mildew's right!”

“Banish them!”

Stoick sighed, knowing what he needed to do. “You're right, Mildew. Tonight, we’ll lock the dragons in cages and by next morning, Hiccup and Hicca will send them all back to Dragon Island.”

“Dad...” Hicca said in disbelief.

Stoick tried to not to break his resolve. “I’m sorry, Hicca, but this needs to be done.”

And there were no arguments.

That night, the teens gathered in the Great Hall, all in melancholy over their soon to be losses.

“I can’t believe the dragons are going to be sent back to the island.” Snotlout complained.

“It's gonna be so weird without them. I’m used to seeing Stormfly's face being the first thing I see every morning.” Astrid said.

“I’m going to miss all the sunset and sunrise flights with Sparkfire.” Raeda said.

“Every night before I go to sleep, Meatlug would always lick my feet so happily.” Fishlegs said sadly. “Who's gonna do that now?!”

“Tuffnut can do that.” Ruffnut suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

Her attempt failed, as not even her own twin brightened up at that “Whatever. When should I be there?” He said monotonously.

Astrid sighed. “Come on, guys. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get this over with.”

“This is the worst day of my life! We're never gonna see our dragons again after this!” Fishlegs groaned as he, Astrid, Raeda, Snotlout and the Thorston twins left.

Hicca and Hiccup stayed behind.

“We can't let this happen! Toothless and Midnight are the best friends we've ever had, aside from Raeda.” Hiccup said.

“I know, there has to be something we can do.” Hicca said.

“Oh, Toothless, Midnight, I'm gonna miss you two so much...” Mildew said in a mock tone, earning glares, from the Haddock twins. “You two want to know what your mistake was? Thinking dragons could be kept under control. But a dragon's gonna do what a dragon's gonna do. It's their nature. And nature always wins.” The old man said, before he walked away.

“Hiccup, when you become chief, please banish Mildew from Berk.” Hicca muttered.

“Strongly considering it.” Hiccup replied.

Suddenly the doors of the Great Hall opened, letting in cold air which caused the fireplace to be extinguished. Immediately, Toothless and Midnight shot plasma blasts to relight the fireplace.

“Oh! Thank you, Toothless and Midnight.” A Viking woman said, grateful. The Night Furies warbled a ‘Your Welcome’ in reply.

“Right there is perfect proof that dragons can be very helpful.” Hicca commented, petting Midnight.

Hiccups’ eyes lit up as an idea came to him. “You know sis, both you and Mildew are right!”

Hicca raised her eyebrows in confusion. “Huh?”

“Think about it for a minute.” Hiccup instructed.

Hicca did so, and the same idea came to her as well. “Oh!”

“Yeah, come on! Let’s go get the others.” Hiccup said and the twins ran off with the two Night Furies following them.

‘I wonder what those two are planning.’ Midnight warbled to her mate while they ran

‘Whatever it is, I bet their father is not going to find out about it so soon.’ Toothless warbled in reply.

In the Arena, the rest of the teens were saying their goodbyes to their dragons before they close the cages.

“Goodbye, Hookfang.” Snotlout said sadly.

“I'm sorry, Stormfly.” Astrid apologised, giving her dragon a hug. “Now go.” Reluctantly Stormfly followed the other dragons to their cages.

“Ugh. Why do I have this feeling that something in my chest is hurting?” Snotlout asked, touching his chest.

“It’s called feeling heartbroken.” Astrid replied.

“I don't have a heart! I'm not a girl!” Snotlout said defensively.

“Everyone has a heart, Snotlout, even grown men.” Raeda said. She was about to pull the lever to close the gates when Hiccups’ voice stopped her.

“Don't close it!”

He, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight ran up to join the others.

“Don’t close it! It’s not over yet!” Hicca said.

“Why? Were you guys able to change your father's mind? Or are we going behind his back again...?”

“Something like that.” Hicca replied, a little nervous.

“If it’s another act of rebel, I’m in.” Raeda said, getting excited.

“Listen to us. The dragons are gonna do what they're gonna do. They can’t help, it's their nature.” Hiccup started explaining

“Instead of trying to stop them, we should learn how to work with them.” Hicca finished.

The auburn-haired twins explained their new plan to the others.

The next day, Bucket and Mulch were on a boat, trying to catch some fishes. Unfortunately, the two farmers/fishermen had no luck.

“Once again, no fishes.” Mulch sighed.

“Did I eat them already? Was it good? Did I enjoy it? Oop-- am I being too negative?” Bucket asked, feeling a little confused.

Hiccup and Snotlout then flew towards the boat on Toothless and Hookfang.

“Snotlout, time to go fishing!” Hiccup ordered.

“Got it!” Snotlout said, as he guided Hookfang to dive towards the ocean.

“Ah! Dragon attack!” Bucket yelped as he ducked.

The Monstrous Nightmare dived right into the ocean, scaring the fishes right into the nets!

“Yeah!” Snotlout exclaimed.

“Hey! Thanks, dragon!” Mulch said grateful that he and Bucket no longer have to spend hours catching fishes.

“THAT'S RIGHT! THAT JUST HAPPENED! WE DID THAT!” Snotlout yelled in triumph.

Meanwhile, Hicca is leading Astrid, Raeda and Fishlegs to Mildews’ cabbage field.

“Let’s go guys! This way!” Hicca ordered.

“Huh?” Mildew asked looking up. ‘What are those kids up to now?’

“Good afternoon, Mildew!” Astrid greeted.

“Dragon Gardening service!” Raeda announced.

Astrid and Raeda guided Stormfly and Sparkfire to use their tails to plough through the field. As soon as they did that, Hicca and Midnight flew by scattering the seeds in to the field.

“Three o'clock! Time for the fertilizer!” Hicca said.

Before Mildew could ask, many dragons, including Meatlug with Fishlegs, began flying over Mildews’ field.

“Okay, Meatlug, let 'er rip!” Fishlegs exclaimed.

The dragons immediately relieved themselves, providing good fertiliser for the field.

“Smile, Mildew! We just saved you three months of work!” Hicca said.

“And it is free of charge!” Raeda added before the teens flew off.

In a forest, Ruff and Tuff were using Barf and Belch to fire explosives to herd some wild boars back into the barn.

“Yeah! That’s how you do it!” Hiccup cheered.

“Guys, we’ve just done a whole week of work under one hour.” Raeda said happily.

“I know! This is awesome!” Fishlegs exclaimed.

“How did you two know this was gonna work?” Astrid asked, Hicca and Hiccup.

“Because they’re dragons, it’s their automatic reaction. We should use to our advantage instead of our disadvantage.” Hiccup explained.

“You know who we should be thanking for this?” Hicca asked.

She didn’t get to answer her own question as the teens were suddenly confronted by an angry Mildew and a stern chief.

“There they are, Stoick! Those dragons don't look like they're in cages to me.” Mildew said, pointing to the dragons.

“No. They are not. This is not what I asked for.” Stoick agreed, he clearly did not like what he was seeing.

“Mildew is definitely not getting a ‘Thank You’.” Hicca muttered.

“He is so going to be charged for the gardening service.” Raeda muttered.

The teens all gathered at the Arena wait Stoick and Gobber while the villagers watched fromt the stands. Both men had stern looks on their faces which left the teens wondering what was going to happen.

“Oh, no! What's Stoick gonna do to us? Is he going to arrest us?” Fishlegs said worriedly.

“No way! I'm too pretty to go to jail!” Ruffnut complained.

“Ha, since when?” Tuffnut joked. His twin shoved him to the floor in retaliation.

Stoick stood in front of the teens. “You all disobeyed my orders and went behind my back... and there will be consequences.” He said, looking at each and every teen.

“I told you two this could end badly.” Astrid whispered to Hiccup and Hicca. “Ugh, neither of you ever listen to me!”

Hiccup steps in front of his father. “Dad, I am the one who came up with this idea.”

Hicca also stepped up. “I didn’t stop him, in fact, I even encouraged him, so I am also to be blamed here.”

“All of you played a part here, therefore, you are all to be blamed here.” Stoick said firmly.

Mildew excitedly watched the scene unfold. “Oh here comes the good part, Fungus. It's about to get ugly.” He said to his sheep that baa’d in response.

Stoick continued “You took over this place without my consent. You released the dragons even though I did not allow it. There is going to be a change around here. That's why I-”

He was interrupted by Gobber, who suddenly became excited. “You kids are getting a Dragon Training Academy!”

Mildew and the teens were dumbstruck by the announcement.

“Gobber! You spoiled the surprise!” Stoick reprimanded.

“Sorry, Stoick, you know how excited I can get with surprises.” The blacksmith apologised. “But continue on.”

“Well, you already told most of it!” The chief pointed out.

“You forgot the part where you tell them about how proud you are of them!”

“GOBBER!” Clearing his throat, Stoick turned to his children. “Hicca, Hiccup-- well, basically what he just said. You've all made me proud and you deserve this. This Dragon Training Academy is for you.” He then opens the cages, releasing all the dragons.

“Sparkfire, I’m so glad you’re not leaving!” Raeda said happily as she hugged her dragon.

“Hookfang! My buddy!” Snotlout cheered.

“Hey, Stormfly! I missed you so much!” Astrid exclaimed.

“Meatlug! Oh, who's Daddy's little baby? Oh, who's Daddy's little...” Fishlegs cooed to his dragon.

“Hey, bud!” Hiccup said, as Toothless tackled him.

“Midnight!” Hicca exclaimed, hugging her dragon.

Mildew was not happy about this turn of events. “Oh, one of these days, I will get those dragons off Berk.”

“Now your next task is to train them.” Stoick said happily.

“Not a problem, Dad. After all, Hicca and I have got them.” Hiccup said, gesturing to Midnight and Toothless.

“Ah-hem?” Astrid said, getting Hiccups’ attention.

“And...” Raeda trailed.

“And them as well.” Hicca said smiling, gesturing to the rest of the dragon riders and their dragons.

The teens spent the rest of the day happily with their dragons, glad that the dragons were not getting banished.

**_Dragons can't change who they are. But who would want them to? Dragons are powerful, amazing creatures._ **

The next day, Hookfang and Meatlug were hanging a sign with a drawing of a Night Fury (courtesy of Raeda) in front of the Arena.

“ _Berk Dragon Academy_.” Astrid read the sign. “I like the sound of that.”

“Nice touch, Rae.” Hicca complimented.

“Thanks.” Raeda said, admiring her work.

**_And as long as it takes me and Hicca, we are going to learn everything there is to know about them. Wouldn't you?_ **


	2. Viking For Hire

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 2: Viking For Hire**

 

**_Everybody needs a place in the world. Some people are born to theirs._ **

Flashback to a ship with Viking warrior, lead by chief Stoick the Vast.

“Raise the main sail! Turn her toward starboard!” Stoick ordered.

“Aye, sir!”

**_Some people discover theirs._ **

Another, more familiar, flashback is shown with Hiccup and Hicca touching Toothless and Midnight for the first time, creating the new bonds.

**_And some people make a place for themselves._ **

A third flashback shows the time when it was Vikings against dragons. The dragons are raiding the village again and Gobber is at the forge, making weapons for the warriors.

“Grab any weapon you see! Don’t be picky!” The blacksmith shouted, pushing the weapon cart.

Gobber then grabs his own prosthetic weapon and charges into the battlefield.

**_But then the world around them changes, and the place they made is gone._ **

Back to the current day, where there is now peace between Vikings and dragons, Gobber is finishing another sword in the forge. Once he finished, he held it up admiring his work. But then he looked around and saw the Vikings and dragons interacting peacefully. With a sigh, he tossed the sword in the cart with the other weapons, realizing that no one needs weapons anymore.

Meanwhile in the new Berk Dragon Academy, Hiccup and Hicca are quizzing the rest of the teens on dragons. The six teens are split into two teams: Astrid, Raeda and Fishlegs on one team, and Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut on the other.

“Every species of dragons has its own unique abilities that sets them apart from other species of dragons. Which dragon makes the best welding torch?” Hiccup asked to Team Astrid

 **“** Deadly Nadder!” Astrid and Raeda said excitedly at the same time

“Its magnesium flame burns with the heat of the sun!” Fishlegs added with equal enthusiasm.

“Correct! Point to Team Astrid. Score is now 100 to 10.” Hiccup announced while his sister added the score to the scoreboard.

“And you guys started out with 10.” Astrid said to the Team Snotlout.

“Oh, yeah? Well, the game's not over.” Tuffnut retorted but then he got confused “Wait, what team am I on?”

“Next question. This one should be easy for you guys. What is the shot limit of a Hideous Zippleback? Team Snotlout.” Hicca said, reading her journal.

“Easy? For them? I don’t think so.” Raeda said.

“Yeah, they can’t even count that high.” Astrid added causing Fishlegs to giggle.

Ruffnut smirked as an idea came to her “Oh, is that so? Let’s see about that. Barf? Belch?” The Thorston twins’ Zippleback raised their heads at one of their riders’ command and shot six consecutive fireballs at Team Astrid, who managed to duck behind the barrels in time.

“Looks like it's about three.” Tuffnut said, holding two fingers up. He was oblivious to the fact that he just supported Astrids’ statement.

“Told you we could count that high!” Ruffnut said, also oblivious.

“Yeah...not quite.” Hicca said. “The correct answer is six, as Barf and Belch have just demonstrated. Since you gave half that number, you get half points.”

“Yes! We're up to 30! We’ll catch up in no time!” Ruffnut cheered, hi-fiving her brother and Snotlout.

Before either Hiccup or Hicca could ask the next question, Astrid jumped over the barrel, not happy with being shot by fire “Alright, it's our turn. What happens when you shoot fire at one of the owners of a Deadly Nadder?” She then whistled for Stormfly, who shoots her tail spikes at Team Snotlout, pinning them to the wall.

“No fair! We didn’t get to answer that!” Tuffnut complained, hanging from the wall.

Snotlout managed to free himself from the wall and walked towards Hookfang. “I've got a question. What happens when I set Hookfang on you?”

“Chaos.” Hicca answered worriedly.

Hiccup tried to avert the oncoming fight “Okay, guys, that's enough training for today. So... we made some really great progress-”

Snotlout ignores Hiccup and prepares to fight “Prepare to face the wrath of a Monstrous Nightmare!” Snotlout pats Hookfangs’ jaw, causing the dragon to suddenly rear up and set himself on fire, burning Snotlouts’ butt, causing the boy to panic. “AH! SERIOUSLY! AGAIN?!” Snotlout shouted. He then jumps into a nearby water tub, extinguishing the fire “Aahhh... sweet relief.” He sighed.

This made Hiccup confused “Hookfang never flames up when you’re on him. Is he okay?” He asked.

“He seems fine now.” Hicca noted.

“Maybe he just realized who his owner is.” Astrid said sarcastically.

“There's plenty of room here, Astrid.” Snotlout said, flirting with Astrid. Astrid grabs his helmet and shoves him underwater in retaliation.

Later on in the plaza, Gobber rallies a crowd, with Hiccup and Hicca in it, and tries to get them interested in buying his weapons.

“Gather around! Come on, one and all! You may think these dragon-killing weapons have no more worth, but think again! They have more than one purpose! Like this long sword, for example. It is now a lovely butter knife!” Gobber demonstrates this by using the sword to spread butter in on bread. However, the sword only succeeded in turning the bread into crumbs “Eh. It is also a bread shredder.” Gobber said nervously, trying to cover it up. The plate then breaks. “And a plate breaker.” He then clears his throat. “Moving on.”

Mildew, who was also in the crowd, comes up to the Haddock twins. “Well, this is a dark day. A once great dragon slayer trying to pass off his well crafted weapons as kitchen utensils? Hm. Tsk-tsk-tsk-tsk.” He said in mock-pity, causing the twins to glare at him.

Gobber then holds up a mace “Up next, how about this...” Gobber hesitated as he tried to find a purpose for the mace. He saw a fly on the table and got an idea “...handy flyswatter?” To demonstrate, Gobber brought the mace down and smashes the table, causing the crowd to gasp. No way where they going to use a mace for _that_ “He-he. Also good for chopping uneven tables.” Gobber said. The fly he was trying to get then emerges from the wrecked table, completely unharmed. Gobber decides to move on and walks over to a large catapult. “Now, I have saved the best for last! This is for the lady of the house! When the hubby's off pillaging, how are you to protect yourself from home invaders? Easy answer: Big Bertha!” Suddenly, the catapult flings open, hurling a stone into Silent Sven's house _._ That was the last straw for the crowd, as they disperse while murmuring _._ Gobber franticly tries to get their attention again. “Hey, wait! Come back! I have plenty of other useful weapons here!” After seeing that everyone left uninterested, the blacksmith sighed, giving up “It's okay Bertha. I will find you a home.” He said, patting the catapult

Mildew decides to use this to guilt the Haddock twins “Ah, it's hard to watch. Especially for you two, eh, Hicca and Hiccup? The feelings of guilt must be tearing at your insides. I mean, you two were the cause of this, with your dragons. Poor man doesn’t have a purpose anymore.” He said mockingly, walking off. The twins continued to glare at him, but they can’t help feeling that he may be right.

Later that evening, Hiccup is in his bedroom with Hicca, Toothless and Midnight and he and sister discussed Gobbers’ dilemma.

Hiccup sighed “You know this wouldn’t have come if Gobber hadn’t taught me how to design and build things?” He said, gesturing to his prosthetic leg “He taught us everything we needed to know to make Toothless’ tail, sis. We gotta find some way to help him.”

“I agree, but how?” Hicca asked.

Their discussion was interrupted when their dad entered the house, very exhausted. He set his helmet down and took a seat. Hiccup and Hicca comes downstairs to greet him.

“Long day of chiefing, Dad?” Hiccup asked.

Stoick sighed “I was _all over_ the island, again. I married the Svensson girl to the Odegaard boy at dawn. Then I went down to the field to stop some kids from yak-tipping, again. Then I was called back to the newlyweds to settle a domestic dispute. I guess that honeymoon's over already.” Stoick said as Hicca brought him a mug of ale, while Hiccup put more logs in the fire

“Something to look forward to when your time comes, huh bro?” Hicca whispered to her brother.

“Ugh! Don’t remind me.” Hiccup whispered back.

“Sometimes I wish there were two of me.” Stoick wished.

This gave Hiccup an idea “Dad, th-there _are_ two of you!”

Hicca thought about her brothers’ statement for a second and caught on to his idea “He’s right!”

Stoick, however, got the wrong idea “Are you two making another joke about my weight again?!” He demanded.

“No, I mean Gobber. _He_ can be the other you.” Hiccup explained.

“Yeah, he can take half of your work.” Hicca added.

“Gobber? Well, he's way too busy making all those dragon-killing...” He started to say, but he realized what he was going to say when he saw the look on his kids faces “Well, used to be, until you--” Realizing that what he was going to say next wasn’t any better, Stoick skipped to the point “Which is great! Except for Gobber.”

“Exactly our point!” Hiccup stated.

Stoick considers this before saying “You know, that's actually not such a bad idea. I _could_ use a right hand.”

“Which works out great, 'cause that's kind of the only one he has.” Hiccup joked.

“Which makes him perfect for the job.” Hicca said.

The next day, Stoick asked Gobber to be his right hand man. Gobber immediately accepted and the two men went to the plaza and discussed the plan for the day.

“I greatly appreciate you helping me out, Gobber.” Stoick said to his friend.

“I'm just glad I could find time in my busy schedule, Stoick.” Gobber lied.

Knowing his friend doesn’t actually have a busy schedule, Stoick ignored that. He then takes out a small sheet of paper with all the tasks needed to be done and splits in half; one for him and one for Gobber. “We’ve got a lot to do today. So this is your half of tasks.” He said, handing one half of the paper to Gobber.

“Okay, these tasks look simple enough.” Gobber said, looking at his half of the paper.

“Now remember, some of these situations are _delicate_. They require _diplomacy_.” Stoick informed him.

“Ah, not a problem. I can do just that.” Gobber said optimistically.

That caught Stoick by surprise “Really? You are able to talk to people with tact and sensitivity?”

It seemed that Gobber thought diplomacy meant something else “Oh, that’s what ‘diplomacy’ means? I thought it meant ‘hit first and ask questions later. But I can try it your way.” He shrugged.

Stoick watched his friend walk away and sighed. He hoped he made the right choice.

In the Great Hall, Gobber is leading a naming ceremony for a new-born baby. “Whosoever brings this child forth into the Hooligan tribe, let he be known!” The parents step forward, bringing their new-born baby. Gobber cradled the baby in his real hand. “As a representative of the chief, I welcome this baby into the Hooligan tribe. And pronounce the name to be...” Gobber paused as the father whispered the babys’ name “Eeh. Hildegard? She doesn’t look like one, we’ll name her Magnus.”

“But she's a girl, Gobber!” The mother said, offended.

“Don't worry, she's not gonna look like one. Magnus it is!” Gobber said in reassurance. It didn’t really make things better for the parents “And please accept this teething toy on behalf of Stoick the Vast.” He said, holding up a mace.

“No!” The mother yelled, horrified, taking her baby and holding her close.

Later, Gobber is at Mulch and Bucket's house, trying to settle a dispute between the two.

“Bucket says you bought a sheep from him, but you have not paid up.” Gobber said to Mulch.

“I have never bought any sheep from him!” Mulch said defensively. But his lie was caught as a baa is heard and a sheep is seen behind Mulch.

“Who's that? A little woman?” Gobber asked sarcastically.

“Oh, Mulch. You're cheating me now?” Bucket said, hurt by this.

“Alright men, there is only one clear way to handle this.” Gobber declared. He then handed a hammer to Bucket and a mace to Mulch. Gobber walks out, leaving the two farmers/fishermen to fight it out. There's an awkward moment of silence before the two raise their weapons. Outside, Gobber smiles and crosses an item off his list. “This diplomacy is like replacing my prosthetics. Okay, what’s next?”

He then went on to his next task, which was to repair one of the boats. Gobber, however, had a different idea on repairing the boat. He used metal slabs on the boat instead.

“I know the conventional thinking when repairing a ship is wood. But if you ask me, there's nothing like a good, old slab of iron! Ha! Nothing's getting through this!” Gobber said to a nearby Viking.

Stoick, along with Hildegard/Magnus's parents, Mulch, and Bucket, approaches Gobber. It was clear that the chief had a talk with all four people.

“Gobber! What are you doing?” Stoick asked in frustration.

“Just finishing another task.” Gobber said smiling, oblivious to the problems he had created. He then takes out his list and checks off the recent task. He taps the ship once with his hammer-hand. The ship suddenly slips off the dock and into the water, where the weight of the iron only makes it sink. “And adding a new item on the list. ‘Recover and fix sunken ship.’” He said adding it to the list. “Same time tomorrow?” Gobber asked the chief nonchalantly. Stoick sighs in exasperation.

That evening, Stoick is placing two blocks of ice on his head, trying to ease the headache caused by the added amount of work, thanks to Gobber. Hiccup hands him a mug of ale.

“Here you go, Dad.” Hiccup said. He looks at the ice-block “Wow. A two-block headache. You know, Dad, Hicca and I think you were a bit tough on Gobber. It was his only first day. Tomorrow will be a different story.”

“Oh, it definitely will be, because Gobber will not be a part of it.” Stoick declared.

“What?” Hiccup asked, confused.

“It was just his first day, dad. He just needs time to learn how to handle things properly.” Hicca said, trying to defend her mentor.

Stoick removed his ice-block “Forget it, I tried to fit a square peg in a round hole, and it sunk a ship and named a baby girl Magnus! Now I'm not saying she didn't look like a Magnus, but try telling that to her parents.”

“I can't believe you fired him just like that! We need to help him!” Hiccup said.

“ _We_ don't have to do anything. _You and Hicca_ , on the other hand, are going to be very busy finding a job for Gobber.” Stoick said, to his childrens’ surprise and dismay.

The next day, the teens and their dragons are gathered at the Academy as Hicca and Hiccup tells them their newly made plan.

“You're bringing Gobber here?” Fishlegs asked cautiously.

“He's gonna be great. Gobber knows a lot about dragons by.... _studying_ them. This can really help us be better dragon trainers.” Hiccup said trying to sound optimistic.

“Yeah, he would know a lot more about dragons’ strengths and weaknesses than Hiccup and I would. That can be helpful.” Hicca said with equal optimism.

“Something tells me this isn’t going to end well.” Raeda said.

Suddenly, the door burst open and in comes Gobber, lugging a whole cart-full of weapons. The dragons are clearly intimidated at the sight of the weapons. What was he going to with them?

“Ready for training!” Gobber said cheerfully.

“There it is.” Raeda said, sighing as her prediction seems more and more likely.

Hiccup walked up to his mentor, weary about the fact that he brought weapons “First of all, welcome. And second... tiny question, why did you bring your, you know...?”

“Weapons? I thought maybe we could motivate them by threatening to kill them.” Gobber explained taking out an unusual-looking sword mixed with an axe and a mace “That's how my daddy taught me to swim.” He slams the weapon into the ground, breaking the ground. “Class is in session students!”

That did it for the dragons as all of them, except for Toothless and Midnight, flew out of the Arena, deciding to skip todays’ lesson.

‘I’m out of here!’-Hookfang

‘I’m calling in sick today!’ –Meatlug

‘This guy is crazy!’-Sparkfire

‘That’s an understatement!’-Stormfly

‘Everyone dragon for themselves!’- Barf

‘I’m with you!’-Belch

Raeda, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran after their dragons.

“Eh. I didn't like school either.” Gobber said shrugging, oblivious to the reason why the dragons left.

Hiccup and Hicca waited at the Academy, hoping that the other riders would come back. They were about to go look for them when Astrid, Raeda, Ruffnut and Tuffnut came back with their dragons.

“What's wrong with you guys?” Hiccup asked, noticing the four teens’ discomforts when they got off their dragons.

“Ugh. We've been riding our dragons for four hours.” Astrid groaned, glaring at Stormfly. “It took _forever_ to chase them down after Gobber scared them away.”

“Some of us took more time than others finding them.” Raeda said, glaring at Sparkfire.

‘Sorry.’ –Sparkfire

‘He had a weird axe/mace type weapon!’- Stormfly

Hiccup sighed “Yeah, Hicca and I are sorry about that. We just don't know what to do with him.”

“We need find him something for him that’s more in his forte.” Hicca said.

They then see Ruffnut kicking Tuffnuts’ butt “Do you guys always have to fight?” Hicca asked. “Hiccup and I don’t even fight _half_ as much as you two do.”

“It's okay. I asked her to do that. I was just trying to get the feeling back.” Tuffnut informed them.

After Ruffnut finished kicking him, she bends down “You gonna return the favour or what?”

“Hicca and I have flown for hours on Toothless and Midnight and neither of us ever had a problem.” Hiccup said confused.

“That's because both of you have saddles.” Astrid said miserably.

This gave the Haddock twins another idea “Saddles!” they said in unison

They went to the forge, where Gobber was, and told their mentor their new plan.

“Saddles? I love it! I've got so many ideas!” Gobber said excitedly. He took a look at the Haddock twins’ drawings and tosses them aside “But not like these. Good ones.”

“Hicca and I are glad you're excited about this.” Hiccup said. “But we still think there are some things in our designs you could use. I mean, you _did_ teach us everything we know.”

“Exactly. That's why you should let Gobber do what Gobber does best. I've been making saddles since you were in diapers. In fact, I _made_ your diapers.” Gobber informed them.

“Okay. That’s information that’s better off not knowing.” Hicca said shaking her head.

Hiccup ignored that and tried to get his point across “I know you know what you're doing. But keep in mind, every dragon is different. So you need to adjust the--”

“Hiccup.” Gobber said, interrupting him.

“But--“

“Hiccup.”

“But, I just think--”

“Hicc. Up. _I_ may have taught you and Hicca everything you two know, but I haven't taught you two everything I know.” Gobber informed him.

“He’s got a point, bro. He’s been a blacksmith even before we were born.” Hicca pointed out.

Hiccup decides to give in and leaves with his sister. Gobber then got to work on the designs for the saddles.

Later on in the night Hiccup, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight could hear Gobber singing in the forge while working.

_I've got my axe_

_And I've got my mace,_

_And I love my wife with the ugly face!_

_I'm a Viking through and through! Hmmm!_

“You know, he only sings that song when he wants to celebrate something. This new plan is really working out well.” Hiccup said hopeful.

“It will be interesting to see what kind of saddles he’ll make for tomorrow, considering he’s not going with our designs.” Hicca said.

The next day at the Academy, the teens and their dragons are gathered to see Gobber's handiwork.

“Alright, this is an exciting day for all of us. Gobber has been working hard to--” Hiccup started to announce.

Gobber interrupted him “Let them hear some words from the blacksmith himself.” He proudly continued the announcement “I've made a lot of saddles in my day. Horse, donkey and now, dragon. But these saddles are special. They're like my children; that is if you strapped your child to a flaming reptile and rode it. So without further ado--” He unveils the saddles.

Unfortunately, Hiccup and Hicca noticed that these saddles were a bit _different._

“Wow, Gobber. This-this is certainly not what Hicca or I would come up with.” Hiccup said surprised

Gobber, not understanding what Hiccup meant replied cheerfully “How could it be? I'm Gobber! Nobody knows what it's like to live in here.” He tapped his head with his prosthetic hand.

“Unfortunately, that is true.” Hicca muttered, now worried about the outcome of this.

Hiccup notices the saddle design for Snotlout and saw that it had an added feature “I-is that what I think it is?” He stuttered.

“Yep! Flamethrower.” Gobber said. He gave a demonstration of the flamethrower. “Took you by surprise, huh?”

“Uh...definitely. Especially since it’s for fire-breathing dragons.” Hiccup replied.

“I know, but can ya ever really have to much firepower?” Gobber asked, still not understanding Hiccups’ point.

“For a dragon with the ability to coat itself with flames?” Hicca asked rhetorically.

The Thorston twins loaded large rocks into each of their catapults that were built on their saddles and launch them, only to have both Barf and Belch struck in the head. They fall to the ground.

“Ow!” Ruffnut yelled as she fell off her dragons’ head.

“Really? You gave catapults to Ruffnut and Tuffnut?” Hicca asked, raising her eyebrows. Gobber just shrugs.

“Uh, Gobber?” Raeda called out getting their attention. “How am I supposed to get on this thing?” She asked, looking at her saddle strapped onto Sparkfire. The saddle was outlined with spikes, making it impossible for the raven haired girl to get on the saddle without getting stabbed.

Fishlegs' saddle is equipped with four large maces, which Meatlug has a hard time staying above ground with. “You can do it, girl! Think light.” Fishlegs said, encouraging his dragon. Meatlug got tired and fell to the ground.

 **“** Oh, come on! You can't tell me _my_ saddle is heavier than Fishlegs!” Gobber said.

“My mom says I'm just husky.” Fishlegs replied sensitively.

Snotlout tries to put his flamethrower saddle on Hookfang, but the dragon refuses, throwing it off and thrashing around.

“Come on, Hookfang. What's wrong with you?” Snotlout asked getting frustrated. He tried putting his hand on Hookfangs’ snout but the dragon just turned away “That's it. I’m trading dragons. Who wants to take Hookfang?”

“Hmm, let’s see. Should I trade my perfect dragon for the angry Monstrous Nightmare?” Tuffnut asked sarcastically.

“No deal, Snot.” Raeda said.

It seemed that only one saddle was working perfectly for the rider and the dragon “This saddle's actually pretty good.” Astrid commented as she flew around Stormfly with the saddle on.

“Try the horn!” Gobber told her.

“Oh no.” Hicca said, covering her ears just in case.

Astrid blows into the horn, which increased in size. The bigger it is, the more amplified the sound is. This startles Stormfly and she sends spines flying, pinning Snotlout to the wall, much to the Jorgenson boys’ dismay.

“Really? Again?” Snotlout complained.

Seeing how this was turning out, Hiccup turned to his mentor “So, anyway, I-I think we're really gonna need to make a few--”

“Changes!” Gobber said, interrupting him with a smile. “I'm way ahead of you. I've got so many ideas! It's gettin' crowded up here.” He chuckled pointing to his head. Hiccup and Hicca exchange a look of worry.

After the session finished and everyone left, Hiccup and Hicca stayed back to clean up the arena, which is now full of burn marks.

“My Odin! And I thought it looked messy when we were killing dragons!”Stoick said as he entered the Arena, looking around in surprise.

“It does look like a battle just took place.” Hicca admitted, looking around.

“More like Gobber came by.” Hiccup said.

“Well, you know Gobber. He has good intentions, but it usually goes better in his head. So what are you two going to do?” Stoick asked his children.

“We’re going to clean up his messes and re-do his work.” Hiccup said and his sister nodded in agreement.

Stoick sighed “Look; Gobber's like family--”

“We are aware of that dad. Which is why we are not saying anything about it.” Hicca said.

“That’s where you are wrong. You two need to say something about this. It’s not fair to Gobber or either of you if you don’t.” Stoick explained.

“You have a point.” Hicca admitted.

Hiccup started getting frustrated “Why do _we_ have to say something to him?! _You_ didn't! You just passed him off to us!”

“That's what the chief does; he delegates.” Stoick said. “Look, I gave you two this Academy because it's the best thing for Berk. And you two are proving that. Now you guys have to do what's best for the Academy. And I'm sorry, but what's best is very rarely what's easy.”

“Yeah, we noticed.” Hicca said, dreading what she and her brother will have to tell their mentor.

As Stoick walked his children out of the Academy, he noticed Snotlout still hanging on the wall by the Nadder spikes. He seemed to be asleep “What about him?”

“Leave him. He's going for a record.” Hiccup informed him.

“He figured, if it’s going to happen to him a lot then he might as well try.” Hicca said.

“Enough said.” Stoick said, deciding to let his nephew be.

“Well, here we go. It’s now or never.” Hicca said as she Midnight, Toothless and Hiccup stood outside the forge. “Hey, you never know. Maybe we don’t have to fire him. Maybe Gobber decided to look at our plans and make the saddles better.” A small explosion was then heard inside the forge.

“You were saying?” Hicca asked.

“Or not.” Hiccup sighed

The Haddock twins then went inside the forge and saw Gobber raising a crossbow at them.

“Gobber? Don't shoot!” Hiccup exclaimed.

“Don’t be crazy, Hiccup. I wouldn’t shoot either you or your sister unless I absolutely had to.” Gobber replied.

That didn’t make either of the twins feel better “Good to know, but why don’t you just give the crossbow a rest.” Hicca said.

Gobber put the crossbow down and turned to the twins “You know, about the weapons, maybe the catapults were a bit much for some of the dragons.” He said. “So I'm changing the design. I've gotten rid of the two big ones...”

“Gobber, that's great!” Hiccup said. Maybe they didn’t have to say no to their mentor after all.

“....And replaced them with six _little_ ones!”

Or maybe they do...

“Not great.” Hicca deadpanned.

Hiccup decided to tell the news “Yeah, um, Gobber about that... uh, Hicca and I think it might be time for you to take a little break.”

“In case you hadn't noticed, the only time a Viking takes a break is to die.” Gobber informed him.

“That can’t be true.” Hicca muttered. Hiccup tried again “Maybe ‘break’ is the wrong word. What I mean is, we are not sure things are working out.”

“Well, get back to me when you're sure.” Gobber said, oblivious to what Hiccup was trying to.

Hicca decided to help out her brother. “Gobber, what Hiccup means is that we think you should retire from the saddle project.”

Gobber turned to Hiccup and Hicca, finally realizing what they were trying to say “Are you two gettin' rid of me? Now I see why you had me put down the crossbow.” He said sadly.

“It's just from working on the saddles. It’s not really working out. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything else.” Hiccup said quickly.

“Yeah, I’m sure there’s something out there for you.” Hicca added.

“I don't need either of your pity. I've lost and arm and a leg. I think I'll survive losing a job.” Gobber said, walking off.

“We really sorry, Gobber.” Hiccup called out.

“We really are.” Hicca said as Gobber moved out of their sight.

Hiccup turned to his sister “Well, that was awful.”

“I know. I feel so bad.” Hicca said, feeling guilty.

“I don't know what could be worse than that.” They then heard a roar and saw Hookfang on a rampage “Probably whatever that is.”

“You just had to say that, didn’t you bro?” Hicca said sighing.

Snotlout then came running over to them “I can... not believe that... I am saying this” He said panting “... but Hiccup....Hicca... HELP ME!!!”

In the village, Hookfang continued his rampage, alarming all the villagers nearby.

“Clear away from the area. The dragon is on a rampage!” Stoick ordered.

“I don't know what happened! One minute, everything was okay, then I started rubbing his face, which he loves, then he went crazy!” Snotlout explained “My dragon hates me!”

“They do say a pet starts to take on the characteristics of its owner. That could explain what’s going on here.” Fishlegs guessed.

“Hey!” Snotlout retaliated by punching Fishlegs in the stomach.

“Yeah, case in point.” Fishlegs wheezed, putting his hands on his stomach.

“Maybe there’s something wrong with him, medically.” Hiccup said, turning to his sister, the aspiring healer. “Think you can figure it out?”

“Uh sure, if I can avoid getting burnt.” Hicca replied, watching as Hookfang fire at everything in sight. An idea then came to her. “When was the last time he ate?” She asked Snotlout. “Not for days.” Snotlout answered.

“That must be it! Hookfang must be starving!” Hicca guessed.

Hiccup calmly walked towards Hookfang taking a raw fish with him “Are you hungry, boy?” He gave the fish to Hookfang. The dragon ate it, but immediately spit it out, causing it to land on Stoicks’ beard “Oh, sorry, Dad.” Hiccup apologised.

“Or maybe not.” Hicca said. Sighing, Stoick took the fish out of his beard and tossed it to Toothless, who ate it up “We've got to bring this dragon under control.” “Don't worry. Hicca and I can do this.” Hiccup said, reassuring his dad.

“Easy Hookfang. It’s just us. Your friends, Hicca and Hiccup.” Hicca said, trying to soothe the dragon.

“That’s right. Everything is gonna be okay.” Hiccup said, patting Hookfang on the side of his mouth. Suddenly, Hookfang roared and blasted fire at the twins. “Hiccup, Hicca, run!” Astrid screamed.

“Get out of there quick!” Raeda yelled. “Got it!”

“Way ahead of you!”

Toothless and Midnight then attacked Hookfang, both were angry at him for attacking their humans.

“Toothless! Stop!”

“Midnight! Stand down!”

Hiccup and Hicca both rushed to their dragons to calm them down. “I've seen enough, Hiccup and Hicca. I'm sorry. We tried it your way.” Stoick said. He then left, knowing what needed to be done. “Gobber! We need you.” Stoick said as he came to the blacksmiths’ house. “No, you don't. Nobody needs me. Nobody needs any of us. Not even you, Bertha.” Gobber said sadly, looking at his catapult. “Are you crying?” Stoick asked, noticing tears in his friends’ eyes.

“Course not. I had just chopped some onions.” Gobber answered, rubbing his eyes. “There are no onions.” “Not anymore, thanks to this.” Gobber said, holding his sword. “There's a dragon in the plaza that's out of control.” Stoick informed him.

“Then why don't you call Hiccup or Hicca? Or both?”

“No Gobber, we need _you_.” The chief said firmly

Back at the plaza the teens tried to come up with a plan to stop Hookfang.

“We have got to get Hookfang under control fast! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!” Hiccup urged. He then noticed Snotlout pointing at something “Snotlout, you have a suggestion?” “I wish I did.” Snotlout whispered, paling. “Stand back, kids. I’m here to put an end to this.” Gobber announced, armed with weapons. “He's gonna kill my dragon.” Snotlout said, getting upset. “You don’t know that.” Hiccup said, trying to reassure his cousin. “Uh, yeah, we do know that.” Tuffnut said. “He’s got sharp, pointy weapons. I’m pretty sure you don’t use a sword to butter toast.” Ruffnut said. “Well, I mean, we would definitely, but you don't.” Tuffnut added.

“Guys, not helping at all!” Raeda hissed at the Thorston twins. “Dad, you can't do this! Hookfang is Snotlouts’ dragon. There has to be another way!” Hiccup said, trying to stop them. “I'm sorry, Hiccup, but sometimes you have to fall back on the old ways.” Gobber said grimly. “But he's a good dragon.” Hiccup pleaded “He's a good dragon!” Snotlout repeated in a whisper. “There's probably just something wrong with him.” Hiccup said. “There's definitely something wrong with him!” Snotlout said, on the verge of tears.

“There has to be a reason Hookfang is acting like this. We should have him checked out before we do anything drastic.” Hicca begged. “Hicca’s right, we have to figure out what’s wrong with him. We can't just get rid of him because he's having a bad day.” Hiccup added. “A bad day for a dragon can be a disaster for us. That's not a risk I am willing to take.” Stoick said before turning to his friend “Gobber.”

Gobber nodded and attacked Hookfang. The dragon tried to retaliate by blasting fire at him but no fire came out.

“Ha! You're all out of fire!” Gobber said. He used this opportunity to shoot bolas, which succeeded in capturing the dragon. Gobber then made his way for the kill.

The Haddock twins looked at each other and nodded. “I can't let you do this.” Hiccup said, as he moved to stop Gobber.

“Neither can I.” Hicca said, joining her brother. They both latched themselves onto Gobbers’ arm

“Let go kids. This needs to be done.” Gobber said, struggling.

Struggling against his bonds, Hookfang roared in their faces, causing the three of them to stop and stare at his mouth

“Whoa.” Hicca said, surprised by what she saw. “Do you see what I see?” Gobber asked “Yeah.” Hiccup replied. He and his sister then let go of Gobbers’ arm. The blacksmith looked at the Monstrous Nightmare with a determined look on his face “Time to put this beast out of its misery.” Gobber said before charging at the dragon. “Hiccup! Hicca! You guys are going to let him do this?” Astrid asked, shocked by their actions. Hiccup just held out his hand in response

“Don’t worry Astrid. It’s going to be fine.” Hicca said.

All of them watched as Gobber jumped on Hookfangs’ snout. After a bit of struggle, Hookfang threw the blacksmith to the ground. Though it seemed that the dragon was finally calm.

“Ah! You didn't kill him!” Snotlout said in relief. “For a toothache? What kind of monster do you think I am?” Gobber asked, holding up the tooth.

Snotlout happily ran to his dragon, who lifted him up with his snout. However, seeing the others looking at him, Snotlout regained his composure. “Stop it. Stop it.” He got off Hookfangs’ snout “Ugh, I don't know where that came from. Do you think you can train that out of him or...?” He asked, earning eye rolls from everyone.

“Yeah, sure. We’ll work on that.” Hicca said sarcastically. “Thank you, Gobber. All this trouble for a bad tooth? Who would have thought of that? I wouldn’t have.” Hiccup said.

“Me neither.” Hicca admitted.

“That's because neither of you are Gobber! I've forgotten more about dragons than most men will ever know.” Gobber replied “Well, better go keep all this safe.” He referred to his weapons and started to walk away, when Hicca and Hiccup got an idea.

“Gobber! Wait!” Hiccup called out.

“Who says you have to put them away.” Hicca asked.

Gobber turned back at them smiling, already knowing what they have in store for him. The next day, he started his newest job; a dragon dentist.

**_When the world around you changes, the good men find a way to change with it. And Gobber is one of those good men. In fact, he's one of the best._ **

_I've got my axe_

_And I've got my mace,_

_And I love my wife with the ugly face!_

_I'm a Viking through and throouugghh!_


	3. Animal House

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 3: Animal House**

 

**_Here on Berk, we made peace with the dragons._ **

It was another normal day for Berk. Well ‘normal’ as in Vikings and dragons were both living comfortable on one island without any chaos.

 ** _We're finally living and working together...and it only took us three hundred years._** **_There's one slight problem... we forgot to tell the animals._**

Suddenly, a Deadly Nadder and a Monstrous Nightmare flew right into each other and started a fight. They both landed on a farm to continue fighting each other. They were so absorbed in their argument that they did not notice the terrified expressions of the animals on the farms. The sheeps immediately scatter.

Mulch and Bucket then came towards the farm. “Oh, not again. Get out of here! Now! Shoo!” Mulch said as he and Bucket shooed both the dragons out of the farm. After the two dragons had left, the two farmers then turned their attention back to the animals. “Alright, everybody, time to earn your keep.”

Bucket went to the chickens to collect the eggs. But when he lifted one of the chickens, he got confused when he didn’t find any eggs. “Eggs come from chickens, right?”

“Do I need to explain everything to you again?” Mulch sighed, exasperated.

“No...” Bucket replied, but he contradicted himself a second later when he lifted up a sheep.

Mulch rolled his eyes. “Apparently I do. Alright, listen up Bucket.”

He then pointed to each and every animal. “Wool. Eggs. Milk. Was that so hard now, see?” The blank expression on his friends’ face gave the answer.

Mulch sighed again in exasperation. “Ugh. Just watch and learn, _again_.” The shorter farmer grabbed a stool and sat near the yaks’ side. “Just grab the utter, like so, and pull.” He pulled the udder, but no milk came. “Uh, pull.” He tried again and got the same result. “Pull!” This time he did it more forcefully, causing the yak to kick the farmer away in retaliation. “Uh-oh. I think we're empty. That's not good.”

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless and Stormfly were riding down a snowy mountain trying out a new sport they call “dragon boarding”. And the trial seemed to be successful.

“Yahoo!”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Both teens and dragons were having the time of their lives. Then Astrid had a mischievous glint in her eyes. She silently commanded Stormfly to shoot spikes at Hiccup and Toothless and the Nadder complied, causing the duo behind to swerve in order to avoid the spikes.

“Whoa! Hey, Astrid! What gives?” Hiccup yelled.

“Oops, did I do that? Sorry.” Astrid said innocently, looking not-so-sorry. Hiccup decided to retaliate by having Toothless skid down to Stormfly’s side. The male night fury then extended hi wing, blocking Astrids’ view. “Hey! What are you doing? I can’t see!” Astrid shouted trying to get a better view. Toothless then moved his wing in time for Astrid to see the snow covered branch. “AH!!” She was then met with a face-full of snow. “So that’s how it’s going to be like, huh?!” Astrid yelled, wiping the snow off her face.

“I have no idea what you're talking about!” Hiccup replied while Toothless gave a dragon-like chuckle.

_‘Hah! We’re winning’_

Not wanting Hiccup to get the last laugh, Astrid made Stormfly blast a pile of snow in Hiccup and Toothless’ path, causing the duo to spin uncontrollably. “Astrid!”

“That one was her idea. But I liked it so I let her! Ha-ha!” Astrid shouted as she and Stormfly were once again in the lead.

But the fun and games were short-lived as Hiccup noticed an avalanche coming right behind them! “Uh-oh!” Hiccup tried to push the stirrup but Toothless still remained on the ground. “Oh no! The tail's frozen! Astrid!” Astrid turned to see what Hiccup was trying to tell her. As soon as her eyes went to the avalanche, the young shield maiden had her dragon take off from the ground. Hiccup and Toothless, however, weren’t so lucky. The boy was moving to the Night Fury’s tail to try break the prosthetic tail out of the ice.

Astrid then saw that Hiccup and Toothless were skiing right into a trench! “HICCUP!!!” She immediately flew Stormfly to Hiccups’ side.

“No! Go back!” Hiccup shouted. But Astrid didn’t listen as she got closer and extended her arm for him to take. Hiccup took it but it was too late as the four of them fell right into the trench and into the darkness

“Astrid?” Hiccup called out in the darkness.

“Over here.” Astrid replied shivering. “Hiccup, I'm freezing.”

“Come here.” A scuffling noise was heard. Hiccup then realised something “Where are the dragons?” He got his answer when the male Night Fury shot a plasma blast from above. “Toothless?” The blast was then followed by a burst of magnesium flame.

“Stormfly?” Astrid called out.

The two dragons continued to shoot fire above until a ray of sunlight shone down, revealing that the Night Fury and the Deadly Nadder used their wings to shield the two kids away from the snow, creating a snow dome.

“I see daylight!” Hiccup said relieved

“We're gonna get out of here!” Astrid said equally happy.

The two teens looked at their dragons at awe. “Look what they did. We didn’t even tell them to do anything.” Hiccup noted.

“Yeah, they saved our lives.” Astrid said grateful.

It was then that the two teens looked at each other and realised that they were hugging each other to keep warm. Blushing the two teens separated and felt awkward.

“Uh, um...that was...so...” Hiccup stuttered trying to say a correct sentence. “So, we're good now?” He finally managed.

“G-good as new... Good thing your sister wasn’t here to see that.” Astrid said.

“And Raeda.” Hiccup added. If those two girls ever found out about this moment, they would never let Hiccup and Astrid live it down.

Astrid then punched Hiccup on the shoulder to get some normalcy back. “Ow!”

Back to the farm, Mulch and Bucket called Stoick and Gobber and informed them about the new crisis.

Gobber was examining the yaks. “Ah, uh... there it is, mm-hmm!” He then finished and walked to the rest of the men. “Just as I thought; the yaks are not giving any milk.”

The chief sighed. “We know that, Gobber. Bucket and Mulch already told us that. We need to know the reason behind it.”

Gobber thought about this for a minute. “This reminds me of the time I moved my mother in with my goat. She was mean, ornery, ate everything in sight. The goat was so scared of her, she couldn't give milk.”

“So, what are you saying by that, Gobber?” Stoick asked confused.

“Mothers and goats don't mix.” Gobber stated. “That’s the same case with farm animals and dragons. We stopped fighting dragons, so now they're around all the time. The animals are spooked.” Then, as if to prove the blacksmiths’ point, a Monstrous Nightmare flew right by three of the sheeps in the farm and the sheeps responded by dropping to the ground like flies. “Like I said, spooked.” Gobber repeated.

Suddenly Bucket gave out a loud groan and clutched the bucket on his head in pain.

“Uh-oh. Your bucket's not tightening up on ya, is it?” Mulch asked worriedly.

“No, I'm just...” Bucket tried to say, but his bucket tightened even more. “FIIIIIIINE!!!”

“This is not good, whenever his bucket gets tight it means a storm is going to come.” Mulch explained to Gobber and Stoick.

“No it doesn’t! There’s no storm, everything's fine.” Bucket said frantically.

“Bucket...” Mulch reprimanded.

“I don't want there to be a storm! If lighting strikes me bucket, I could end up less intelligent.” Bucket said.

Mulch checked the bucket. “Oh, ho-ho! That's one tight bucket! And the tighter the bucket is, the bigger the storm will be.”

Stoick finds this hard to believe “But that's crazy. It is way too early for a storm to hit.”

“And since when does a _bucket_ predict storms? That's what chicken bones and goose feet are for.” Gobber added.

“If you recall that bucket of his predicted the Blizzard of Olaf!” Mulch reminded them.

“That was a bad one!” Bucket remembered. “We spent a week just to dig Mildew out.”

“And the rest of our lives to wonder why we bothered.” Mulch sighed. “Trust the bucket, Stoick.”

“How about you trust the bucket while I go get a second, more reliable opinion?” Stoick replied knowing exactly where to go. He and Gobber made their way right to the elderly, Gothi, hut.

“Gothi, I've come for your council. Is there going to be a storm?” The elderly replied by opening a bag of sand on the floor and drawing some pictures in it.

“What's she saying, Gobber?” Stoick asked, as the blacksmith was one of the few people who could translate Gothi’s symbols.

“She says: ‘What do you think?’” Gobber replied. Both men shared and look of confusion and looked back at the Gothi. The elderly rolled her eyes and pointed to her house which had its’ doors and windows sealed shut.

The two men were surprised to have missed that. “How do you know for sure?” Stoick asked. “Was it the chicken bones? Or the goose feet?”

Gothi drew in the sand while Gobber read. “She says she could hear Bucket's screaming all the way up here.” Looks like the bucket is more reliable than the chief and the blacksmith thought.

At one of the watchtowers, Hiccup and Astrid had gathered Hicca, Snotlout, Raeda and Fishlegs and enthusiastically told them the incident at the mountains “...And then the dragons used their wings to block the snow.” Hiccup finished.

“I've never heard of anything like that. Not even in the Book of Dragons.” Fishlegs said excited to learn something new about the dragons.

“Me neither, this is one to add in the books.” Hicca said, taking out her notebook.

“It was incredible!” Astrid exclaimed. “It’s as if their protective instincts just kicked into gear!”

“It’s funny isn’t it? The dragons we’ve been fighting for years were the ones who came to our rescue.” Hiccup said, looking at Toothless and Stormfly in amazement.

“Yeah, if it Stormfly and Toothless didn’t help us, Hiccup and I would've frozen to death.” Astrid agreed.

“You know, you two could've used your own bodies to keep each other warm.” Fishlegs suggested innocently.

Looks like Hiccup and Astrid omitted a part of their story as the two teens once again realised how close they were and moved away quickly.

“Um...”

“Why would anyone do that?”

“That's just crazy.”

Unfortunately for those two, Hicca and Raeda noticed the sudden change in positions and the uneasiness in their tones and exchanged smirks.

“You know what? It looks like Hiccup and Astrid forgot to mention something.” Raeda said smirking at the blushing duo.

“I think you’re right, Rae. Hiccup, Astrid, is there something you guys like to share with us.” Hicca asked, acting innocently.

Luckily, for Astrid and Hiccup, Snotlout decided to cut in. “Hey, Astrid, if you need some warmth...” Astrid’s embarrassment quickly turned into annoyed as she answered by hitting the post of a catapult above the teens, causing a pile of snow on the catapult to fall on Snotlout.

“Hey!” Snotlout shouted in a muffled voice.

That’s when Ruffnut and Tuffnut came to the watchtower. “Hey, Hiccup! Hicca! Your father's looking for you two.” Tuffnut said.

“He looked angry.” Ruffnut informed the auburn twins.

“He's looked angry since the day we were born.” Hiccup said with a sigh. “But I'm sure there's no connection.”

“Ninety-nine per-cent chance there is no connection.” Hicca said.

As soon as the Haddock twins reached their house, Stoick wasted no time telling his children the dilemma. “There's a bad storm comin'. We could be locked in. We might not be able to hunt or fish for months!”

“But that can’t be! It's way too early for a storm.” Hiccup argued. “We're in the middle of winter! Devastating Winter isn't due for another month!”

Hicca agreed “Yeah, Hiccup and I should know that. We’re the ones usually getting sick around that time.”

“Well Gothi says differently, and you two know better than to bet against her.” Stoick said.

“Well, what are Hicca and I supposed to do? We can't control the weather!”

“We could sing ‘Snow, snow, go away...” Hicca suggested with humour.

“I don’t need you two to control the weather. I need you two to control the dragons. If they don't stop scaring the animals we won't have any provisions to live on.” Just then Mulch and Bucket came in.

“Ah! Any luck?” Stoick asked, hopeful.

“Not a drop.” Mulch said dejectedly. “And this is after yankin' on that poor yak for three hours!”

“But it's not like the dragons are trying to be scary. I mean, they don't even eat farm animals. They eat _fish_!” Hiccup defended.

“Yeah, Hiccup and I have been working on this whole ‘dragons aren’t dangerous thing. They don’t even try to attack the animals.” Hicca supported.

“True but the dragons are still huge, breathe fire, and now that we've made peace with them, they're _everywhere_.” Gobber listed. “The animals are terrified of them.”

“Here's where you two jump in and say 'We'll fix this'.” Stoick said to his children.

“Okay. But how long do we have before the storm hits?”

“About a week.” Mulch said, checking the bucket.

“That’s plenty of time to come up with a plan and execute it.” Hicca noted with relief.

Hiccup agreed “Yep. No problem at all.”

Suddenly, Bucket gave out a large cry of pain.

“Correction: three days, six hours.” Mulch said, after checking the bucket again.

“Uh, okay... less time... might be more of a problem.” Hiccup said, getting a little worried.

“Less planning, more executing.” Hicca added.

The auburn twins went out and immediately gathered the other dragon riders, the dragons and the farm animals into the Academy.

“Okay listen up guys, a storm is coming up and we need to get the animals to stop being scared of the dragons if we want to survive the storm.” Hiccup explained.

“But storms don’t usually come around this time.” Fishlegs pointed. “How do you guys know it’s coming?”

“Is Bucket’s head tightening?” Raeda asked.

“Yes...” Hicca answered suspiciously.

“It’s definitely coming. And it’ll be a bad one, so we need to start right away.” Raeda declared.

“You believe in the bucket prediction too?!” Hiccup asked in shock.

“After the Blizzard of Olaf, definitely.” Raeda said firmly.

The auburn twins looked at each other. First Gothi, now Raeda. Maybe there is more to the bucket than they thought.

Hiccup shook his head and started on their mission “Come on, big boy. You can do it. Come on.” He encouraged, pushing one of the yaks towards the dragons. The poor yak was doing its best not to be pushed in that direction. “You'll really like them if you get to know them.”

“Don’t let the appearance fool you.” Astrid said to the terrified farm animals. “The dragons _look_ scary but they're just big, scaly reptiles.”

“Just like Snotlout.” Tuffnut snickered.

Snotlout, clearly didn’t find that funny. He grabbed the Thorston boy by the front of his shirt and lifted him up, ready to punch him. He hesitated though as he inspected Tuffnut. “You're Tuffnut, right?”

“No.” Tuffnut said, doing a poor imitation of his sister.

Fishlegs ignored the two boys and came up with a suggestion. “Okay, what if we look at this from an animal's perspective?” He then got on his hands and knees and started crawling around. “Oh, hello, Mr. Dragon!” Fishlegs said to a Monstrous Nightmare. “I'm just a little sheep here... walking... doing sheep things... Baaa!” The sheep looked unimpressed. Even if they could talk, they certainly wouldn’t talk like that! “Baaa! You know, he doesn't really seem so big and-” He stopped himself when the Monstrous Nightmare suddenly roared in his face. Terrified, Fishlegs scrambled to where Meatlug was and hid under her, much to the Gronckles’ confusion. “Sorry! But I'm siding with the sheep on this one.”

“Yeah, that’s very helpful Fishlegs.” Hicca said with sarcasm.

“Look, Hicca and I have learned that once you have a positive experience with something you're afraid of, it isn't so scary anymore.” Hiccup said, trying to get the sheeps closer to the dragons.

“I don’t know Hiccup sometimes confronting something you’re afraid of could make it worse for you.” Raeda said as a memory passed by her mind, causing the Henderson girl to shudder.

Hicca knew exactly what her best human friend was talking about. “That’s not the case all the time, Rae. If you confront your fears and conquer them, it could put your mind at ease.”

Hiccup also knew what the two girls were talking about and decided to redirect the discussion for Raeda. “Okay, here you go boys... over here.” Hiccup said, moving the sheeps closer to Hookfang. “Hicca is right. That's what we'll have to do with these sheeps. We just need to show them that there is nothing scary about dragons and-” What he didn’t noticed was that Hookfang decided to sniff the sheeps out of curiosity and in doing so, the Monstrous Nightmare sneezed, setting one of the sheeps on fire.

“Not again.” Hicca groaned as she watched the sheep run away in panic.

Astrid stopped the burning sheep, allowing Hiccup to dose out the flame. “Ooh-aaah-at this rate we'll never get any milk or eggs!” Hiccup sighed.

While the teens continued to solve the dragons vs. animals crisis, Stoick and Gobber were at the food storage, checking the inventory. “Just as I feared.” Stoick said, sealing the doors to the food storage. “We haven't had time to fully stock the food store house! If this storm is as bad as I think it is, we're never going to survive!”

“Not with this inventory.” Gobber agreed. “It’s not even enough for Hiccup _or_ Hicca.”

“We're going to need everything we can get from those chickens and yaks.” Stoick said.

“You know, it doesn’t really make me feel comfortable putting my fate in the hands of a brainless bird and a big woolly beast that sleeps in its own dung.” Gobber said.

“Well luckily our fate isn't in their hands. It's in my son's and daughter’s.” Stoick said, confident that his children could solve their problem.

If only he saw the situation in the Arena…

The animals were running around trying to get away from the dragons. Hiccup decided to move on with their plan. “Another way for the animals to overcome their fear is to show them that dragons are afraid of things too.” He said to Raeda, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs all who held doubts in their expressions.

Astrid supported Hiccups’ theory “He’s right. For example, remember Magnus the Merciless?” Fishlegs shuddered at the reminder. “He was terrifying. I was afraid of him until I learned that he was afraid of the dark.”

“So during the day: merciless” Tuffnut said.

“And during the night: Tuffnut!” Ruffnut snickered. Tuffnut punched her on the shoulder. “Ow!”

“Hey! That's a real problem.” Tuffnut said defensively.

“It makes sense. Knowing that the object of your fears has a weakness makes it look less threatening.” Raeda said.

“Exactly! And that’s what we are going to do for the animals.” Hicca said as she took two live eels in her hands. She held them up in front of the dragons and as predicted all the dragons hissed and backed away from the eels. The animals have noticed this.

“I think it's working!” Astrid said, looking at the animals.

She seemed to have spoken too soon as one of the eels had slipped out of Hicca’s hand and slithered towards Hookfang. Hookfang backed away from the eel in fear and in doing so, accidently hit one of the sheeps with his tail, sending the poor sheep flying into a wall!

“Whoops. My bad.” Hicca said, rubbing the back of her neck. She decided to keep the other eel hidden away from the other dragons.

Hiccup groaned, clearly starting to panic. “Don't worry.” Astrid reassured.

“Worry? I-I'm not worried! Do I look worried?” Hiccup said unconvincingly.

“Do you want a serious answer to that?” Raeda asked.

Outside the Arena, the storm starts to pick up, causing the chief to gather all the villagers into the Great Hall “Bring in everything you need! We down know how long we'll need to be hunkered down!” The chief instructed to his people. Mulch came up the stairs carrying Bucket in a wheel-barrow. The taller man was clenching his bucket in pain. “How's Bucket doing?” The chief asked, concerned.

“Look at him! He always enjoys riding in a wheel-barrow.” Mulch answered, gesturing to his friend.

Stoick looked out in the direction of the Arena, knowing the teens were still there. “Mulch, I'll take care of Bucket. You and Gobber go find the kids and bring them here.” Stoick ordered, taking the wheel-barrow.

At the Arena, the animals continued to run around, while the teens tried to catch them. “Hey! Calm down! Get back over here!” Astrid ordered to a yak.

“It’s okay, little guy. You’re safe.” Raeda cooed, holding one of the sheeps.

“You know what I'm learning from all this?” Hiccup asked, holding the chickens as they squirmed in his arms. “Chicken are really, well, chicken.”

Fishlegs then came up with another idea. “What if we showed the animals how much they have in common with the Dragons?” He suggested. The other teens just gave him a confused look, having no idea what he means. “They both lay eggs right? A Terrible Terror laid one last week!” He then took the rather large egg and placed it on the ground for the animals to see.

Hicca and Raeda’s eyes widened as they remember something _very_ distinct about dragon eggs.

“Uh-oh.” Raeda muttered as she saw the chickens getting close to the eggs. One of the chickens even sat on top of it.

“Uh, Fishlegs that is really not-” Hicca tried to say.

“Alright, see? An egg's an egg, right ladies?” Hiccup said to the chickens, apparently forgetting the one important fact about dragon eggs. He and the other teens got a reminder as the egg suddenly explodes, sending all three chickens flying all over the place. “Until it explodes...” Hiccup deadpans.

“Seriously, has everyone forgotten the incident at Snoggletog?” Raeda asked face-palming.

“You just had to bring that up didn’t you?” Astrid grumbled, wanting to forget that disaster.

“Everybody out, the storm is here!” Gobber shouted, as he and Mulch came to the Academy.

“Wait, already? But it hasn’t been three days and six hours yet.” Hicca said.

“And we haven't made any progress with the animals!” Hiccup said.

“Your father wants everyone in the Great Hall!” Gobber informed them, gathering the animals with Mulch.

Hiccup had a determined look on his face. “Take the others. I need to stay and keep working with the animals. They're... still afraid.”

“If he’s staying, I’m staying as well.” Hicca said, equally determined.

“Neither of you are staying. The animals will not be of any use if they are frozen!” Gobber said. “We've got to get the animals in the barn!”

But by the time they reached the barn, they had another problem. “So much for the barn.” Gobber sighed. The barn was completely covered in snow.

“There's no other place to hold them!” Mulch shouted in the storm.

“Yes there is!” Raeda shouted back.

“The Great Hall!” Hiccup hollered pointing in the direction of the storm.

“That’s your plan? Putting the dragons and the animals under the same roof?” Mulch said worriedly. “We know that won't work.”

“It’s not like we have other options.” Hicca pointed out. “We could even work on the ‘animals scared of dragons’ problem’ there.

Seeing no other way, Gobber went with the plan, deciding to deal with any problems between the dragons and animals in the Great Hall. “Alright, keep 'em separate!”

The teens nodded and worked with the two adults to guide the animals and dragons towards the Great Hall.

“This way!” Astrid shouted to the animals.

“Come on, come on! Let's go! Oh, this way guys!” Fishlegs shouted.

Just when things seem to be going right, lightning strikes one of the trees causing it to fall right in front of Stormfly. Due to her defensive instincts, the blue Nadder responded by sending out spine shots, a few of them flew right at Hookfang!

 _‘Hey! Watch where you’re shooting!’_ Hookfang roared to Stormfly. Angered the Monstrous Nightmare set himself on fire and gave out a loud roar, frightening all the farm animals. This caused all the animals to run away in fear, causing complete chaos!

“Nothing ever goes easy for us.” Raeda sighed as she started chasing after the animals along with the other teens.

“Hey, I got this under control!” Snotlout said, holding his arms out as he prepared himself for five incoming yaks. He tried to tackle them, but he ended up falling to the ground and getting trampled by the said yaks. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Ooooh... ow! Okay, everything hurts.” He groaned.

Fishlegs tried to catch some of the animals running his way from different directions, but ended up getting spun around. Ruffnut chased after some sheeps, only to get hit in the face by a crazed chicken.

Hiccup and Hicca were also unsuccessful in catching the animals.

“Aww...” Hiccup groaned as he and his sister watch the animals disappear from sight.

“We definitely won’t be able to catch them on foot, bro.” Hicca said to her brother.

Hiccup looked at her, understanding what she meant and nodded. The two of them immediately went to Midnight and Toothless and saddled up.

“Where do you two think you’re going?!” Gobber demanded.

“We’re going after them!” Hiccup answered.

“We’ll have a better chance of getting the animals with Midnight and Toothless.” Hicca explained.

“Forget it Hicca and Hiccup! We'll never get them rounded up in this storm!”

“We’ll have a better chance of getting the animals with Midnight and Toothless.” Hicca explained.

“No! Your father will kill me if I left either of you out here--!”

“Sorry, Gobber!” Hiccup and Hicca both said as they took off.

“Hiccup! Hicca! Both of you come back here!” Gobber yelled as they flew off. “Astrid, Raeda will you two talk some sense-” He turned to see the two girls only to see them getting on their dragons as well and something told him that neither of them were going to get the twins back. “Ah--No, no, not you, too! Raeda! Astrid! Neither of you are going with-” He got cut off when the rest of the teens flew over his head on their dragons. “Ach! GET BACK HERE, ALL OF YOU!” His screaming fell on deaf ears as he watched all the teens and dragons disappear into the snowstorm.

In the Great Hall all the villagers huddled near the fire burning in the middle to keep warm. Suddenly, a cold blast of wind forced the doors of the Great Hall to open, causing everyone to shudder.

“Move those tables against the doors!” Stoick ordered, pointing to the tables. Four Vikings did as told and successfully sealed the door... only to have them forced open by Gobber.

“Stoick! The barns been destroyed! The animals have scattered!” Gobber alerted the chief.

Stoick looked at the blacksmith and noticed that none of the teens were with him. “Where’re Hiccup, Hicca and the others?”

“I tried to stop him Stoick. They went after the animals.” Gobber answered. Without another word, Stoick went to the doors of the Great Hall with one clear goal in mind. Gobber went after him, knowing what the chief is going to do.

Just as they were leaving, Mulch came with two yaks. “I caught these two. I figured at least with these we'd be able to start a new herd.” Mulch said, bringing the two yaks in the Great Hall.

Gobber noticed something Mulch didn’t “You might want to take another look, Mulch.”

Mulch did so and noticed the problem. “Oh! Uh, never mind boys!” He said sheepishly.

Somewhere in the snowstorm, the dragon riders flew together with their dragon providing light with their fires. “You find as many as you can. We'll herd them back to the Great Hall.” Hiccup instructed to the others.

“And the sooner we can do it the better.” Hicca said rubbing her arms for warmth.

“Can we swing by my house? I'd like to get my heavy coat.” Fishlegs said, shivering from the cold.

“Check this out!” Tuffnut said, getting Ruffnut’s attention. He punched himself in the face. “I'm so cold I can't feel my face.” Ruffnut punched him as hard as she could. “Still didn't feel it!” The blonde twin said in a sing-song voice.

“That takes all the fun out of it!” Ruffnut complained.

Hicca scoured the grounds and found some of the animals “There they are! Come on!” She yelled to the others.

“Yaks to the left!” Fishlegs shouted as he flew Meatlug in that direction. He definitely didn’t see Snotlout and Hookfang intercepting their path.

“Chickens to the right!” Snotlout shouted as he and Hookfang sent Fishlegs and Meatlug spinning. “Hey! I'm flying here!” Snotlout said to Fishlegs. He flew Hookfang near the running chickens. “Chickens! Over here! Follow me this way. Come on!” He guided. Hookfang looked up and noticed that they were flying right into a fallen tree. Without warning, Hookfang them up in the sky. “Wait. Where are you going? AHHHH!” Snotlout screamed.

 _‘I’m trying to keep us from crashing, which is supposed to be your job by the way.’_ Hookfang retorted to Snotlout in his dragon language.

Fishlegs flew Meatlug above the sheeps “Sheep! Hey, sheep, this way!” Fishlegs said to the sheep, which were running. “Baaahh! Baah! Baah!” He looked happy when it seemed that the sheeps seemed to be following him. “Hey, it's working! Baah!” His happiness was short lived when he and Meatlug “Baahh...” Fishlegs bleated in misery.

 _‘I don’t like this.’_ Meatlug said equally unhappy.

Raeda and Astrid flew above them on Sparkfire and Stormfly. “Don’t worry, Fishlegs, we got them!” Astrid shouted. “Ready, Rae?”

“Ready” Raeda yelled back. They both waited until all the sheeps were gathered together. “Now!” They commanded both Stormfly and Sparkfire to fire spine shots around the sheep creating a makeshift sheep pen.

“Yes!” Raeda hollered.

“Gotcha!” Astrid yelled.

Unfortunately for them, Snotlout and Hookfang choose that moment to fly in still out of control. “DUUUHH! GAAAHHH!” Snotlout yelled, trying to regain control. They flew to close to the sheep pen and Hookfangs’ wing accidently knocked over two of the spines, allowing the sheeps to escape.

“Oh come on!” Raeda complained.

“Snotlout, what are you doing?! You're all over the place!” Astrid yelled.

“ _YOU_ TRY HERDING CHICKENS WITH A DRAGON WHO DOESN'T LISTEN TO YOU!” Snotlout retorted.

 _‘Sorry for trying to keep us both safe.’_ Hookfang snorted.

Astrid then spotted three sheeps running on a ledge. “Hiccup! Stray sheep!” Astrid alerted to Hiccup who was the closest to the ledge. Hiccup immediately flew Toothless to the ledge.

The three sheeps continued to run across the ledge, when suddenly the smallest sheep slipped and fell of the ledge! The lamb continued to slip down the slope and was about to fall into a trench when Toothless swooped in and rescued the lamb. The male Night Fury gave a gummy smile to the lamb and returned put it back with the other two sheeps.

“Good job, bud.” Hiccup praised, giving his dragon a pat on the head.

“Make way!” Hicca yelled as she and Midnight landed near the two boys, both dragon and rider had their arms and claws filled with chickens. “We got as many as we could find.” Hicca reported.

“Hiccup, Hicca, the storm is getting worse! I can't see anything!” Astrid called to the twins.

“We need some light.” Hicca said to her brother.

“On it.” Hiccup replied. “Come on, bud. Give us some light.” Toothless shot a plasma blast in the distance, allowing Hiccup to get a glimpse of two large figures that appear to be yaks. “Stray yaks, twelve o'clock!”

Ruffnut and Tuffnut spotted them. “I see them! AND THEY ARE _HUGE_!” Tuffnut hollered as he and his sister guided Barf and Belch to where those yaks where. The Zippleback immediately swooped down and grabbed the yaks with their claws. They then flew back to join the others. “I got the yaks.”

“Put me down!” A loud and familiar voice yelled from below. The Thorston twins leaned down to see that the two “yaks” where actually Stoick and Gobber! “Right now!” Without any hesitation, Barf and Belch released the two men. Stoick landed on his feet while Gobber landed face first in the snow.

“Do I look like a yak to you?!” Gobber demanded, getting on his hands and knees. What he didn’t notice was that he was near an actual yak and similarities where quite noticeable.

Hiccup, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight flew to the chief and Hiccup and Hicca got off from their dragons. “You two shouldn't be out here, Hicca and Hiccup.” The chief said sternly.

“Dad, we’re sorry we let you down.” Hiccup said, defeated.

“We tried so hard to get all the animals, but things didn’t really go our way.” Hicca said, looking down.

Stoick expression softened. “Neither of you are to be blamed here. Now come on, we’re going back.”

“Which way?” Gobber asked.

“Follow our tracks.” Stoick answered. But they turned back to find that there were no track, due to the snowstorm.

“So much for that idea.” Gobber sighed. What is with their luck?

“Sir? What do we do now?” Fishlegs asked, shivering.

Stoick looked around and saw that the other teens were also shivering from the cold, having been out longer than him and Gobber. The chief knew that he needed to think fast. He came up with a solution. “Everyone, come together.” He said, holding his arms out. The eight teens and the two adults all huddled together, using each others’ body heat to stay warm, although no one was sure if they would survive the snowstorm. Midnight noticed the humans huddled together and nudged her mate.

 _‘They are all going to freeze to death if we don’t do anything.’_ Midnight said.

 _‘You’re right and I know what we need to do.’_ Toothless replied.

After exchanging a few more growls, the two Night Furies got the attention of the other dragons and informed them of the plan. The other dragons nodded and walked towards the humans, forming a circle with their wings spread wide, blocking the cold wind.

“What are they doing?” Stoick asked, looking at the dragons.

“They're protecting us.” Hiccup answered smiling, knowing that they were going to be safe now.

“It's their natural instinct.” Astrid informed. Meatlug, Stormfly and Sparkfire shot fireballs at the ground which helped in keeping the group warm. Outside the dragon circle, the animals all gathered around saw how warm the humans were. Toothless spotted the sheep he saved earlier and broke from the circle towards it. He gently nudged the sheep towards the circle and the sheep complied. Soon the other animals joined the sheep and huddled with the humans and dragons.

“Your dragons are really something, kids.” Stoick praised.

“They definitely are.” Hiccup replied with a smile.

“Wouldn’t trade them for anything.” Hicca said.

The next morning, the storm stopped and the dragons shook off the snow from their wings. The group then made their way to the Great Hall.

“They're back! And they're alright!” Mulch said with relief when he saw Stoick, Gobber and the teens walk into the Great Hall.

“The animals are alright, too!” Bucket said when he saw the Vikings carry in the animals.

Mulch then spotted the dragons. “Uh-oh. Here come the dragons.” He said to Bucket, expecting the animals to run around the Great Hall in fright. He was in for a surprise when Hookfang came in to the Great Hall and lowered his wings allowing the sheep that were on it to slide out. “Will you look at that.”

“Hey everyone! Look at this!” Astrid shouted, getting everyone’s attention.

“The chickens are laying eggs again!” Hiccup announced, holding out an egg.

“I knew chickens lay eggs.” Bucket said to Mulch.

The doors of the Great Hall closed and everyone, humans, animals and dragons, were ready to make it through the storm.

**_Winter in Berk is long and brutal, and the only way to survive it is if we're all in it together. We made our peace with the dragons when we saw that we could trust them. Turns out they actually have instincts to protect us. All of us. Life on Berk just got a little warmer._ **


	4. The Terrible Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 4: The Terrible Twos**

 

In the forest of Berk, the eight dragon riders and their dragons were doing another training exercise; communication between dragon and rider.

“Okay everyone, follow me and Hicca and keep a sharp eye out! We’re doing low-level evasive maneuvers!” Hiccup shouted while riding Toothless “Come on, bud!”

“Let’s go girl.” Hicca said to her dragon as they dived through the forest.

**_When you're riding a dragon, communication is key._ **

Hiccup, Toothless, Hicca and Midnight zigzagged through the trees in perfect sync, none of them crashing into the trees or into each other. Raeda and Sparkfire were right behind them also moving through the forest in perfect sync.

**_You almost have to read each other's minds. Or else._ **

Snotlout, however, didn’t have that much luck as Hookfang kept crashing into tree, though whether it was by accident or on purpose, the Jorgenson boy couldn’t tell. “Hey! What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me?!” Snotlout yelled at Hookfang as they flew out of the trees with Snotlout covered in branches “We gotta go back! I think you missed a branch!” He said sarcastically.

 _‘Well if you insist.’_ Hookfang said in his dragon language. He flew right back in the forest and took the same route. “Got it!” Snotlout said dazed as he was covered in more branches when they came out of the forest the second time around.

**_And you have to have an open mind, because sometimes, your dragon knows better than you._ **

Astrid and Stormfly skillfully maneuvered through the trees and came across a fallen tree. “Stormfly, up!” But Stormfly instead went with her instincts and dived under the tree, knowing that was the better option. This moved sent her rider flying over the tree, but luckily, she managed to catch her. “You were right, Stormfly. It was down. I almost died.” Astrid said breathing heavily.

 _‘No problem.’_ Stormfly squawked.

“ _Almost_ died? I _would've_ died!” Snotlout yelled while getting some branches out of his nose

“Looking good, Snotlout.” Astrid commented. Hearing this, Snotlout immediately shoved the branches back in his nose, not knowing that Astrid was only joking.

Hiccup then noticed someone was missing “Where is Fishlegs? Has anyone seen him?” He asked

“I saw him yesterday. Does that count?” Ruffnut replied.

“He must have gone the wrong way in the forest.” Hicca suggested.

“I’ll go look for him, you guys stay here.” Hiccup said to the other riders. He and Toothless then flew back to the forest to look for Fishlegs. They came to a tree and saw Meatlug stuck on a branch. They then looked down and saw Fishlegs stuck on another tree.

“Oh, there you are, Fishlegs. Are you okay?” Hiccup asked as he and Toothless went to him.

“I'm fine. Just hanging out, enjoying the view. Definitely did not crash in here.” Fishlegs said nervously before caving in “That was a lie, I crashed. There, I said it.”

Hiccup grabbed both his legs and tried to pull Fishlegs down, but only succeeded in pulling Fishlegs’ pants down “Oops.” He said.

“And there goes my dignity.” Fishlegs muttered, embarrassed by this.

“Yeah, you're pretty stuck.” Hiccup noted. Then he got an idea “I think I know how to get you down, but you have to stay _perfectly_ still.”

“Why? What are you going to do?” Fishlegs asked, getting nervous.

Hiccup didn’t answer him. Instead, he turned to Toothless “Careful, bud, he's not wearing any pants.”

That got Fishlegs more nervous “Huh? Wait a second; what does my lack of pants have to do--” He didn’t get to finish the question as Toothless fired a light plasma blast at Fishlegs, knocking him down the tree “OH!” He then got up “Thank you. Um, I believe those are mine.” He said awkwardly referring to his pants, which were still in Hiccups’ hands.

Hiccup gave him his pants back and then looked up to Meatlug “Now, we just need to figure out how to help Meat” He didn’t have to think of anything though as Meatlug suddenly fell down from the tree “... Lug?”

“Can you not tell the others Meatlug broke the trees? She's sensitive about her weight.” Fishlegs whispered so that his dragon couldn’t hear him.

“What happened?” Hiccup asked.

“I don't know! I was just flying along, taking notes on the flora and fauna... typical guy stuff.” Fishlegs explained “And something weird jumped out of the bushes. It was like a... flaming squirrel.”

“Really? A flaming squirrel?” Hiccup asked dubiously.

“Or a chipmunk.”

Hiccup gave Fishlegs a skeptical look

“Or some other flammable rodent.”

Another skeptical look.

“I don't know what it was Hiccup, but we saw it and it scared us. Isn't that enough for you?” Fishlegs asked defensively before getting on Meatlug and joining the others.

When they left Hiccup turned to Toothless “Did you hear that? A flaming squirrel. Everyone know there's no such thing as a--” Suddenly, Hiccup and Toothless saw that Fishlegs might not be wrong after all “FLAMING SQUIRREL!” He yelled as he and Toothless ducked behind a log, narrowly avoiding a spinning, flaming creature “Whoa! You saw that, right?” He asked Toothless to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. He got out from behind the log and went to inspect the creature. On closer inspection, he found that it was actually a small dragon. “Hey, little guy. Who are you?” Hiccup asked, crouching down. Toothless started growling at the smaller dragon, not trusting it. “Whoa, settle down, big fella!” Hiccup said, trying to calm Toothless. He continued to look at the new dragon. “I've never seen anything like him.” Toothless continued to growl. “You're not helping.”

 _‘I don’t like this.’_ Toothless growled.

Hiccup said to his dragon “You know, I think we may have discovered a new species here!” Toothless then pulled his human away from the small dragon and tried to persuade him to leave. “Whoa, hey, Toothless! What has gotten into you? Looks like he's hurt! Don't be afraid, I'm a friend.” Hiccup then got out some Dragon Nip and offered to the small dragon “Here. It's okay. It's just a little Dragon Nip.” It worked as the small dragon ate it up and jumped into Hiccups’ arms. Toothless was not happy about this at all as he snarled. “Come on, play nice.” Hiccup scolded his dragon before he yelped “AHH! Little dragon, big claws! Come on, let's go. We'll fix you right up.”

Hiccup brought the small dragon back to the academy with Toothless following them (the larger dragon still not trusting the smaller dragon). Once there, the other teens looked at the small dragon in fascination.

“This is so exciting! It's a whole new species!” Fishlegs said excitedly.

“If this is an undiscovered species, it could be a serious breakthrough which can go down in history.” Hicca said, equally excited.

“Doesn't look like a flaming squirrel to me.” Tuffnut commented.

Fishlegs ignored that “We have no idea what it's capable of! There's no telling what it might do.”

Tuffnut decided to test it out “Flame! Do it!” He commanded. Instead of producing a flame as commanded, the small dragon pounced on Tuffnut and started biting his nose! “AH! Get it off, get it off, get it off!”

Ruffnut started laughing, amused at her brothers’ misfortune. But her enjoyment was cut short when the small dragon decided to go after her instead!

“Oh, that is funny.” Tuffnut said, getting up. Now that the small dragon was off him, he was free to enjoy his sisters’ sudden misfortune.

“Come on, you guys, this is serious! We have to figure out what to do with him. He's hurt!” Hiccup said.

“ _He's_ hurt?” Tuffnut asked incredulously while rubbing his nose. _He_ was the one who got bitten by the small dragon.

“Here, let me see.” Hicca offered, taking the small dragon. She gives the small dragon a quick check-up. “No visible signs of injury. But he does seem a bit shaken up.” She reported.

“He's just really scared. He'll settle down.” Hiccup said.

“Um, new species, remember? We actually don't know what he'll do.” Fishlegs pointed out.

“Well, somebody's got to take him home.” Astrid said. Immediately everyone, except for Hiccup and Hicca stepped back. It became clear who’s going to take the small dragon home.

“Well, big guy you now have a home.” Hiccup said, volunteering to take the dragon home.

“I can imagine what dads’ reaction is going to be to this.” Hicca said

“No, no, no! He's not staying here. I've got a two-dragon limit!” Stoick refused immediately when he learned about the new houseguest.

“But then he’ll be homeless. We need to help him.” Hicca protested.

“Yeah, plus he's not a very big dragon! He’s more like a... a flaming squirrel.” Hiccup suggested.

“Don't want one of those either.” He then turned to the two Night Furies “Toothless, Midnight, what are you two waiting for?” He asked as he placed a log in the fireplace. Before either of the Night Furies could light up a fire, however, the new dragon immediately blasted a fire at the fireplace.

“Ah, looks like you two have been torched.” Stoick commented to the two Night Furies as he petted the small dragon “Oh, that's his name, by the way. Torch.”

“So, he can stay?” Hiccup asked hopeful.

“Well, can't throw him out now! I just named him!” Stoick answered.

While Hicca and Hiccup hi-fived, Toothless still eyed the new dragon wearily. There was no doubt something was going to happen because of that dragon. Midnight looked at her mate worried. Why was he acting like this?

 _‘What’s wrong?’_ She asked.

 _‘I don’t like the looks of this guy.’_ Toothless replied with a growl

Later, it was Hiccups’ turn to bring the food for the dragons. He brought two large baskets for Midnight and Toothless and a plate with one fish for Torch. “Okay, a hundred for you two, and one for you. There you go, guys, your first supper together.” He said before leaving the room. Toothless and Midnight were ready to eat their dinner, but then they saw their baskets suddenly empty! They both looked at Torch and realized that the small dragon was behind this.

 _‘Yum. That was good.’_ Torch said.

Hiccup came back to the room and saw the two baskets already empty. “Whoa, Toothless! Midnight! You two were sure hungry tonight, weren't you?” Hiccup asked, oblivious to what happened.

He then brought Torch and Toothless to his room, while Midnight went to Hiccas’ room, still grumbling about her lost dinner.

“Okay, Torch. This is where you're gonna sleep.” Hiccup said setting Torch down on a small rock slab next to Toothless. Torch wasn’t comfortable on his own slab and decided to go on Toothless’ slab instead, much to the Night Furys’ annoyance.

“Aw, look at that. He's made himself at home. Toothless, you don't mind sharing your bed for the night, do you?” Hiccup asked, not seeing Toothless’ annoyance.

 _‘No, I am definitely NOT okay with this. First, this guy steals mine and Midnight’s dinner, now he steals my spot on the rock slab.’_ Toothless said annoyed.

Thinking his dragon is okay with it, Hiccup went to his own bed. “Hope he sleeps through the night. He hardly ate.”

Toothless snorted at that. _‘Oh, Hiccup, you oblivious fool.’_ The small dragon hardly ate? Toothless and his mate hardly ate because of that small dragon. “And you? Go to sleep.” Hiccup simply said to his dragon before falling asleep. Thoroughly annoyed by what happened today, Toothless curled up on his rock slab and went to sleep.

Outside the village in the forest, was a large dragon coming to the same spot Hiccup, Toothless, Fishlegs and Meatlug were at earlier. When the dragon found it vacated, it gave out an enraged roar. The roar woke both Toothless and Midnight up. They both met up outside and went to investigate where that roar came from. They went to the forest to find the source of the roar and they found a dragon, similar to Torch but a lot bigger. It looked like the dragon was searching for something.

 _‘Doesn’t that dragon look the same as the smaller dragon we found?’_ Toothless asked Midnight.

 _‘She definitely does. And the only time I’ve seen a dragon this enraged is if...’_ Her eyes widened in realisation. Toothless must have come to the same conclusion as panic set in for him.

The two dragons looked at each other worriedly. They knew how protective mother dragons can be to their hatchlings. This is not good.

The next morning, Hicca and Hiccup brought Torch to the Dragon Academy; both were unaware of what their dragons discovered last night.

“Alright, Torch. Let's figure out what you are.” Hiccup said cheerfully.

“Oh! This is so exciting! Documenting a whole new species... learning all about it!” Fishlegs said excitedly.

“Wait, learning?” Tuffnut asked, surprised.

“No thanks.” Ruffnut said, wanting to avoid the possibility of studying.

“Come on guys if this is a new dragon then we could be the first to record information about it.” Hicca said.

“I think Hicca is on the right track. There's nothing in the Book of Dragons that looks anything like him.” Hiccup said, looking at the Book of Dragons.

“We even get to determine what it's called. Heh. That is... that is a really big responsibility. I don't know if I'm ready for that.” Fishlegs said, getting more excited.

“I am! I'm gonna name the snot out of it!” Snotlout boasted.

“Good luck with that.” Raeda said sarcastically.

Astrid got out the measuring tape and measured Torchs’ wing. “Twenty inches for the wings.” She recorded.

“That's a big wingspan.” Hiccup commented.

“Big Wing! Big Span! Big-Wing-Span!” Snotlout shouted.

“No to all three. Try again.” Raeda said to Snotlout.

“May I have the honor of administering the claw-test?” Fishlegs offered. He held up a piece of parchment for Torch. Torch sniffed it curiously and then used the claws to shred the parchment to pieces. “Look at these talons... They're razor-like.” Fishlegs said in awe.

“Sharp-Claw! Razor-Feet! Razor-Sharp-Claw-Talon-Feet!” Snotlout tried.

“Hold on. Is he serious?” Tuffnut asked, referring to Snotlout.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Hicca answered.

“You know what's next, don't you?” Fishlegs asked.

“No. Not really.” Hiccup answered.

“Me neither.” Hicca said.

“Only the single most important test to determine a dragon's reaction to eels... The Eel-Reaction-Test!” Fishlegs reminded them. He then brought an eel from a basket and held it up, making the other dragons hiss and back away in fear. Torch, however, did something that shocked the teens. He not only got close to the eel but he also ate it!

“Did he just...?” Raeda asked, not believing what she saw.

“He did.” Hicca answered.

“He ate it! He ate the eel!” Fishlegs said amazed.

“Eel Eater! Come on, that's perfect.” Snotlout said. The others ignored him.

Hiccup turned to Fishlegs “Fishlegs, has there ever been a Dragon who wasn't afraid of--”

“Never in recorded history. We're in uncharted waters, my friend.” Fishlegs answered.

“This is amazing.” Hicca said, surprised to see a dragon who eats eels.

“You hear that, Torch? You're one of a kind.” Hiccup said to the small dragon.

“Now we need to get him to fly.” Fishlegs said.

“Maybe if Torch saw Toothless fly?” Hiccup suggested. He then turned to Toothless. “Toothless! Let's take a ride, bud!” Toothless, however, refused turning his gaze away from the small dragon. “Toothless! What’s going on?” Hiccup called, surprised at his dragons sudden behaviour.

“Don’t worry, bro. Midnight and I have got this.” Hicca said. “Midnight! Come on! Let’s get Torch to fly.” She got a surprise though, as her dragon also refused, not looking at Torch. “What?”

“Ha, ha, ha! So much for the dragon trainers. How about you let a professional handle this?” Snotlout taunted. He then got on Hookfang “We've got this! Watch and learn!” But his expression quickly turned into fear as Hookfang started flying around crazily doing all sorts of stunts. “HOOOOKFANG!”

“So when is the professional going to demonstrate?” Raeda asked when Snotlout and Hookfang landed.

Snotlout ignored her and regained his composure. He turned “Okay, your turn. Don't think you have to live up to that.”

“Or better yet, don’t have to do anything like that.” Raeda advised the small dragon.

Torch then got up, but instead of flying he started circling the ground.

“What's he doing?” Ruffnut asked confused.

“I think something's wrong.” Astrid suggested.

“Aw man, we broke him!” Tuffnut cried.

“Can’t be. I checked his wings. They’re in perfect shape.” Hicca said.

“Maybe he can't fly.” Hiccup suggested. But then to everyones’ shock, Torch started blasting embers from his mouth and slowly rises into the air while still spinning in a circle and emitting ember. He then stopped and landed on the ground.

“Wow!” Hicca said amazed.

“You... are one incredible little dragon!” Hiccup praised.

“Do you think we could get him to do that again? I want to get a sketch of that.” Raeda said, her hands twitching to capture what she just saw.

“Whoa... Look at that burn mark!” Ruffnut pointed to the ground.

“I also want to get a sketch of _that_.” Raeda said. She then took her sketchbook and charcoal and started sketching away.

“Look at this burn mark.” Tuffnut said, holding up his singed hand. Hicca took out her burn cream from her satchel and started treating the burn.

“Did you see how he flew? He spun like... like a typhoon!” Fishlegs said.

“And he came back just like a boomerang!” Astrid added.

“Hot-Spinner! Flaming-Combacker!” Snotlout shouted, trying to get a name.

“No... Typhoomerang.” Fishlegs said.

“Typhoomerang...? Nah, I don't get it.” Snotlout said. Despite this, everyone agreed that the name of Torchs’ species will be known as Typhoomerang.

“Alright let’s see; twenty inch wingspan, eats eels, has a unique way of flying...” Hiccup wrote down in the Book of Dragons while Torch was playing around in Hiccups’ room. Toothless was at the side, eyeing the smaller dragon wearily. “ See this Torch? You're getting your own chapter.” Hiccup said, showing the newly written chapter on Typhoomerangs to Torch.

His room door then opened and Hicca and Midnight came in “Hey bro, Rae just gave me her sketch on Torch.” She said, giving her brother the drawing.

“Spot on, as always.” Hiccup said, admiring his best human friends’ work.

While the twins worked on the Typhoomerangs’ chapter, Midnight and Toothless’ sharp ears caught the sound of a familiar roar in the distance. Knowing where it was coming from, the two dragons nudged their riders, trying to warn them. However, in doing so Toothless and Midnight accidently knocked the charcoal out of Hiccups’ hand.

“Toothless! Midnight! Look what you two did!” Hiccup reprimanded the two dragons.

“Seriously, what is it with you two? You guys have been acting weird lately.” Hicca said looking at the two dragons with her hands on her hips.

“And now I've got to get more charcoal. Toothless, Midnight, you behave yourself while I'm gone. Can you watch over them sis?” Hiccup asked, turning to his sister.

“Of course.” Hicca answered.

Toothless tried to get him to stop.

 _‘Hiccup, wait! There is danger approaching.’_ Toothless tried to warn.

“Toothless, calm down already, will you?” Hiccup said. Then he went, leaving Hicca and the three dragons behind.

Hicca then turned to the two Night Furies “Listen guys, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on with both of you but I think--” She didn’t get to finish that sentence however as both Toothless and Midnight tried to grab Torch, planning on taking him back to his mother. “Hey! What are you guys doing?! Stop that!” Hicca shouted. But she was ignored by the two dragons. Scared, Torch started blasted fire on the floor. Hicca immediately ran out of the room before she got burned as she was the only one who wasn’t fireproof in the room.

She then saw her brother coming back with the charcoal “Uh Hiccup. We have a problem.” Hicca informed him.

Alarmed Hiccup went to his room and saw that it was on fire! “Toothless! Midnight!” He shouted. He and his sister quickly grabbed a blanket and tried to smother the flames. As soon as they did so, Hiccup turned to his sister. “What in the world happened here?!”

“After you left, Midnight and Toothless pounced on Torch. Don’t ask me why, I have no idea. Torch got scared and started emitting fire.” Hicca explained.

Hiccup turned to the two dragons in disbelief “Toothless, Midnight, why did you two do that? What is wrong with both of you? You could’ve gotten Hicca burned by that.” Toothless and Midnight warbled their apologises. Midnight, especially, was feeling guilty about nearly getting her rider burned to ashes.

Hiccup sighed “Okay, looks like I am going to be sleeping downstairs tonight. We can fix the burnt room problem tomorrow.” Hiccup said. He went downstairs with Toothless and Torch in tow.

Midnight warbled another apology to her rider. Hicca sighed. “Just go to sleep Midnight.” She simply said before heading to bed. She knew her dragon would never mean any harm to her but she was just frustrated at why she and her mate were acting like this.

Late at night, when everyone was asleep, Toothless and Midnights’ ears perked up at a sound of a roar from the distance. Knowing what it was, the two decided to go and see if the mother dragon was anywhere near the village. Midnight looked at her rider sleeping and then got an idea. She started nudging Hicca, getting her human to wake up.

“Not now Midnight. I don’t want to go on a late night flight right now. Especially with the way you’ve been behaving.” Hicca muttered, turning away from her dragon. Midnight sighed and rolled her eyes. Looks like it’s time for plan B. Hicca got a jolt when Midnight used her mouth to grab the girl by her tunic and flew her out the window! Toothless immediately followed them on foot. “Midnight! What are you doing now?! Get me down! I’m not joking.” But Hicca immediately quieted down when she heard a roar. “What was that?” She wondered.

Midnight landed in the forest behind some bushes and the two girls were then joined by Toothless. Hicca peered over the bushes, trying to see what’s going on and she was surprised by what she saw. A wild boar was attacking two Typhoomerangs, the same size as Torch. What Hicca saw next gave her the shock of her life! Then came the larger Typhoomerang that was clearly the younger Typhoomerangs’ mother. Enraged that the boar was attacking her hatchlings the mother dragon fired her flames around the boar, surrounding it so that it couldn’t escape! Hiccas’ eyes widened at the sight. Midnight quickly grabbed her rider again and flew back home while Toothless ran back on foot.

As soon as she got back to her room, Hicca tried to process what happened. “That larger dragon must be the actual size of a Typhoomerang. And those smaller dragons must be her babies seeing how protective she was of them. If that’s right then Torch must also be a baby dragon. Wait a second. We stumbled upon a baby Typhoomerang and brought it home. Now a larger Typhoomerang, a mother dragon, is suddenly in our forest.” Her eyes widened again when the realization hit her. She turned to Midnight. “Do we have that Typhoomerangs’ hatchling?” Midnight nodded to that question. “Was that what you two were trying to tell us?” Midnight nodded again. Hicca smacked her forehead. How could she and her brother been so blind? “Oh Midnight.” She hugged her dragon. “I am so sorry I doubted you and Toothless earlier.” Midnight crooned in return. As long as her rider could forgive her for nearly burning her, Midnight could forgive Hicca for this. “Wait, Toothless!” She suddenly remembered her brothers’ dragon and ran down the stairs, tiptoeing past her brother and opened the door. Toothless, who was already standing outside then came in. Hicca hugged him as well “Oh Toothless. I am so sorry.”

Toothless licked her in response. _‘At least we got one twin to believe us.’_

A thought then came to Hicca. “If that mother dragon was willing to burn that boar for attacking her babies, just imagine what she would do to this village if she finds out we have her other baby.” She whispered to Midnight and Toothless. “We have to do something about it and I know just what to do.” She quietly tip-toed to where Hiccup was sleeping and gently woke up Torch. Torch woke up and looked at the human curiously. “Okay, Torch. Come on. Time to take you to your mother.” Hicca whispered holding her arms out. Torch jumped in her arms and Hicca went outside, jumped on Midnight and flew into the forest. Once there, she settled Torch on the ground. “Okay, there you go. Your mother will come for you any moment now.” She and Midnight then heard a roar in the distance. “Maybe sooner than we think. Come on Midnight! Let’s get out of here!” She and Midnight flew off, back to the house “Okay. Now I’ll just tell Hiccup what happened in the morning, he can apologise to both of you and then things can go back to normal.” Hicca said. She, Midnight and Toothless then went to bed, all were glad that this was over, However, unbeknownst to any of them, the small dragon made its’ way back to the Haddock household, nestled near Hiccup and went to sleep. Looks like Torch got a bit too attached to the Haddock boy.

In the morning, Toothless woke up stretching but then froze when he heard a familiar roar. ‘ _That dragon is still here? She sounds angrier than before. Didn’t she find her hatchling?’_ Toothless then went to the forest to investigate, not noticing a certain small dragon sleeping next to his human. After he left, Hiccup woke up, got ready for the day and decided to head to the forge with Torch to talk to Gobber about his latest problem with Toothless.

“And now Midnight’s also acting the same way. I don’t understand what’s wrong with here. It’s like they’re jealous.” Hiccup said to Gobber who was working on dragon teeth. “Which is great. So... my first girlfriend is a dragon.” Hiccup answered sarcastically.

“Another thing we have in common.” Gobber remarked “Don’t pay attention to what’s on the surface, Hiccup. Dragons are complex creatures, Hiccup. They operate on many emotional levels. Me? I've only got the one. By the way, where is your sister? I rarely see you two separated.” He asked once he noticed that the Haddock girl was not here.

“She and Midnight are still sleeping. Which is odd because they’re usually the first ones up.” Hiccup answered. While that is true, but after last night Hicca had decided to sleep in today and her dragon wasn’t complaining.

Suddenly Toothless arrived. He went to the forest where the mother Typhoomerang was and discovered that she was still searching for her baby; meaning Torch never went to her. What’s worse was that the mother dragon was getting closer to the village. Knowing that would cause problems, Toothless went on a search for Torch to bring him back to his mother. His search led him to the forge where he saw Torch with his Hiccup again!

“Whoa! Okay, Toothless!” Hiccup said trying to calm Toothless who was roaring, trying to get Torch. “You see? This is my point right here.” Hiccup said to Gobber, gesturing to Toothless. “Toothless, settle down!” But Toothless wouldn’t listen. The mother dragon was getting closer and closer to the village and he needed to give her back her baby before she could hurt anyone; namely Hiccup. Toothless grabbed Torch and headed in the direction of the forest. “Gobber! Grab him!” Hiccup shouted.

Gobber came in front of Toothless and held his arms out. “You want to dance, big boy?’Cause I've got my dancing shoe on!” He then leapt and managed to grab Toothless’ tail just before the dragon made a run for it “Gotcha! Whoa!” He was then dragged along by Toothless’ tail into the forge. “My panpipes! Now I can get the band back together!” Gobber said cheerfully, forgetting the task at hand. After a bit of struggle, Torch managed to free himself from Toothless and started running away from the larger dragon.

Torch quickly hid behind Hiccups’ feet. Deciding that enough is enough, Hiccup shouted “Toothless! _BACK! DOWN!_ ” He and Toothless were inches away from each other locked in a stare-down. The stare-down was broken when Gobber decided to play his panpipes. “Not. Helping.” Hiccup grumbled, annoyed.

“Sorry.” Gobber apologised, putting the panpipes down.

Hiccup then turned to Toothless “I don't know what's gotten into you, but I don't like it.” Toothless simply walked away from there. Gobber then started playing a more sorrowful tune on the panpipes, earning a glare from Hiccup.

“What?”

Hiccup managed to get on Toothless and decided to take him to the Cove for a time-out Toothless tried to go in another direction. “Whoa! WHOA!” Hiccup yelled as he tried to get control of the flying. “Toothless! The cove... is this way! Where are you going? No! You're going to the cove!” They managed to make it to the Cove and Hiccup got off Toothless’ saddle. “Okay. You've gotta stay here. I never thought bringing Torch home would lead to this. I've gotta separate you two until I can figure this out.” Toothless growled and came in front of Hiccup, trying to keep him from leaving.

 _‘There is nothing to figure out. You have a baby dragon with you and now the angry mother is searching for him.’_ Toothless growled at Hiccup.

“Toothless... This is serious. You've got to stay here.” Toothless was adamant. “Okay. A crazy, out-of-control dragon, blocking my way out.” He managed to side-step the dragon and escape “Or not!”

Meanwhile, Hicca and Midnight finally woke up and headed to the forge. “Hey Gobber!” Hicca said cheerily to her mentor, who was happily playing the panpipes again.

“Hello Hicca. Seems like you and your dragon are on friendly terms again. Hiccup told me the issue.” Gobber said.

“Yeah, well that was just a misunderstanding. By the way, have you seen Hiccup?”

“Yeah, he took Torch to the Academy.”

Hicca and Midnights’ eyes widened. “Wait, Torch? He’s still here?”

Gobber raised his eyebrows at that. “What are you talking about? He never left.” He then turned his back on the girls to clean his panpipe. “You should’ve seen it this morning. Toothless completely lost it--” But by the time Gobber turned around, he found both Hicca and Midnight running off to the Academy. He then shrugged and continued playing his panpipes.

Meanwhile at the Academy, Hiccup told Astrid, Raeda, Snotlout and Fishlegs what happened, while holding Torch.

“That’s really weird. It’s not like Toothless to act like that.” Raeda said.

“You did the right thing with Toothless. He'll snap out of it.” Astrid said reassuringly.

“Ya, but what if he doesn't. Then you won't have a dragon to ride, and if you don't have a Dragon to ride then you can't be the leader of the Dragon Academy! HA!” Snotlout said in joy.

“Don’t forget Snotlout, Hicca still has Midnight so she will be the sole leader till then. And from what I’ve seen, she’s more than capable of doing it by herself.” Astrid retorted.

“I agree.” Raeda said.

“Hiccup! Hiccup!” Hicca called out as she and Midnight came into the Academy. “Hiccup, I have to tell you something. This is important!” But before she could continue, Ruffnut and Tuffnut came in with Barf and Belch, looking excited. “You guys would not believe what we just saw.” Tuffnut said.

“Excuse me; we're having a power struggle.” Snotlout said.

“We are?” Hicca asked confused.

“We're not having a power struggle.” Hiccup said.

“The whole forest; ultimate destruction.” Tuffnut said.

“It was beautiful. The whole thing was torched.” Ruffnut said in awe.

“Torched? Show me.” Hiccup said.

“I know who caused it.” Hicca said.

“You do?” Hiccup asked, looking at his sister.

“I’ll explain on the way. Bring Torch with you. By the way where is Toothless?” Hicca asked as she and her dragon looked around the Academy, realizing that the male Night Fury is nowhere to be seen.

“Uh, I kind of put him on a time-out in the Cove.”

“What? Oh Hiccup.” Hicca said exasperated. Why did she have to sleep in today? “Come with me on Midnight and I’ll explain everything.

The eight teens then flew to the forest, where the Thorston twins said they saw the destruction.

“Like we said; ultimate destruction.” Ruffnut said, admiring the mess of the forest.

“Torchs’ mother?” Hiccup asked his sister once she finished her explanation.

“Yes, Torch is a baby dragon and the Typhoomerang that caused _this_ is his really protective, really enraged mother dragon who needs to get her hatchling back fast.” Hicca said.

“That's what Toothless and Midnight were trying to tell us.” Hiccup said, looking guilty, His best dragon friend was trying to warn him to protect him. And what did he do? Trapped the dragon in the Cove.

Hicca noticed her brothers’ guilt and put her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay bro. Midnight had to dragged me to the forest to see Torchs’ mother to finally realize the truth. There was no way you could’ve known.”

Suddenly the mother Typhoomerang arrived, eyeing her baby that was being held by Fishlegs.

Fishlegs noticed the rage in the mother Typhoomerang and became scared “Whoever gets between that mother and this baby is gonna get **_fried!_** ” He then gave Torch to Tuffnut, who started panicking.

“You take it!” He said, giving Torch to his sister.

“I don't want it!” Ruffnut said, giving Torch to Snotlout

“Just leave it, and let's get out of here.” Snotlout said, passing Torch onto Hiccup.

“Uh-oh.” Hiccup said as the mother dragon started to charge at him. He quickly put Torch down. “Now, uh, go home to your Mama.” Torchs’ mother started breathing fire. “RUN!” Hiccup shouted to the others. Everyone immediately scrambled back to their dragons, while Hiccup got on Midnight. “You guys go that way, Hicca and I will lead her back into the forest away from the village.”

“Hiccup! Hicca!” Astrid called out, as the large Typhoomerang dragon started chasing the Haddock twins and the Night Fury.

“Be careful!” Raeda shouted.

Hiccup then turned back and saw Torch following them, leading to his mother chasing them “Oh, please stop following us!” he begged.

“What do we do now?” Hicca asked.

“Go to the Cove.” Hiccup instructed. Hicca complied and steered Midnight to the Cove.

Reaching the Cove, Hiccup jumped off Midnight and shouted. “TOOTHLESS!”

A few seconds later, Hiccup and Toothless flew in the air, joining Hicca and Midnight. “Thanks bud. I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. You too Midnight. I should have listened to you both.” He said apologising to both dragons.

“Alright, how about we continue this later? We still have something to do.” Hicca said, referring to the baby Typhoomerang and the mother Typhoomerang still chasing them.

Hiccup nodded “Right, Toothless evasive maneuvers.”

“Midnight, let’s shake them off.”

Both dragons flew their riders out of the forest at high speed. Yet, the relentless mother Typhoomerang was still behind them.

“Oh, why won't she stop?” Hiccup groaned.

Hicca saw the reason why “Uh, Hiccup.” She said, just as Torchs’ head popped out from behind Hiccup.

 _‘That was fun, can we do it again?’_ Torch chirped, referring to the flying. “What the--? Torch? What are you doing? You need to be with your mother!” Hiccup exclaimed.

 _‘But I want to be with you.’_ Torch replied.

“What now?” Hicca asked as she saw the mother Typhoomerang gaining on them.

“I got an idea. Hicca, Midnight fly back, give us some space.” Hiccup ordered. Hesitantly Hicca and Midnight complied, hoping he has a good plan. “Toothless we have to try something else. We'll use her size against her. Toothless, up!” Toothless followed and the mother dragon went after the boys since they were the ones who have her baby. “Now! Dive!” Toothless did so as well as the mother dragon. Just when they were seconds away from hitting the ground, Toothless pulled up. The mother dragon, however, wasn’t fast enough and crashed to the ground.

Toothless and Hiccup landed on the ground, along with Hicca and Midnight. “I hope she’s okay.” Hiccup said as Torch got off Toothless and went to his mother.

“Me too.” Hicca said.

Torch nudged his mother awake and the mother and baby reunited. They were then joined by Torchs’ siblings.

“Aww! Cute! Torchs’ baby siblings!” Hicca said smiling.

“Good job, guys. Everybody's back where they belong.” Hiccup said as he got on Toothless. “Goodbye, Torch.”

“Bye Torch!” Hicca said, waving to Torch.

“Let's go home, guys.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Later at the Haddock household, Stoick was cooking dinner while Gobber was playing on his panpipes. “Ah. I wrote this just for the occasion.”

“We should have known you two were just trying to keep us safe.” Hiccup admitted.

“We need to learn to listen to you guys better in the future. Will you forgive us?” Hicca asked.

As an acceptance of their apologies, Toothless and Midnight regurgitated fish on their riders lap.

“We’re taking that as a ‘yes’.” Hiccup said sighing.

“Yep.” Hicca agreed, disgusted by the regurgitated fish.

**_Communication between dragon and rider goes both ways. Not only must the Dragon follow the Rider's lead, but the Rider must listen to the dragon as well. Because sometimes, what the dragon is trying to say is what you really need to hear._ **


	5. Pirates From The Past

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 5: Pirates From The Past**

 

**_Since we made peace between Vikings and dragons, everything changed. Vikings no longer raised their weapons against dragons and dragons no longer set fire to the village....on purpose at least._ **

A flashback shows a dragon raid where Vikings were viciously fighting against dragons and vice versa. Now on the current day the dragons and Vikings are interacting with each other on friendlier terms.

**_New changes have been made since then._ **

In the air Hicca, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Astrid and the Thorston twins were all flying around the village on their dragons.

**_But sometimes old habits die hard._ **

At the Henderson household, Raeda finished getting ready and walked downstairs to get a quick breakfast and go outside. She went to the kitchen where her parents were.

“Fix your posture Raeda. Remember what I said about your walk?” Raedas’ mom asked.

“I need to walk tall and proud.” Raeda recounted. She grabbed a loaf of bread and made her way out when her father stopped her.

“Here, drink some water first.” He said, holding out a mug for her to take. “It’s important you stay hydrated.” Raeda took the mug and drank the water. “And I hope you’re still practicing those combat moves, Raeda. Just because there are no more dragon raids doesn’t mean you can slack off on your training.” He said.

“Don’t worry dad, I am.” Raeda said, although it was a lie. She actually spends most of her time flying with Sparkfire and drawing new landscapes she and her dragon come across. “I have to go; I’ll see you guys later.” She then flew off with Sparkfire.

Later on, Raeda and Sparkfire went to the forge, where Hiccup was working. However instead of sitting around and talking to Hiccup like she usually does, Raeda was actually working on a sword she made by herself.

“Important thing to remember when working in the forge; be mindful when you’re have a metallic weapon over the fire. The last thing you need is the metal part to melt completely off the handle. Trust me, this is learned from experience.” Hiccup informed Raeda. Toothless was laying down in a corner of the forge, waiting for his rider to finish up so that they could go out flying to join his mate.

“Got it.” Raeda replied while putting the finishing touches on her sword.

Hiccup looked out the window and saw Sparkfire standing outside “What’s up with Sparkfire.” He asked, noticing that the purple Nadder was on high alert.

“Oh, I just put her outside to stand guard in case my parents come by.” Raeda answered.

“So they have no clue that you’re learning to craft from me and Hicca?” Hiccup asked, turning to the Henderson girl.

“Nope.” Raeda answered.

“And they also still don’t know about your secret desire to be an artist.” Hiccup asked.

“No.” Raeda repeated.

“Rae, I don’t know why you’re still hiding this. I thought you said your parents have been less strict on you.” This is true. Ever since the battle that took place in the dragons’ nest, Raedas’ parents have been less strict on her and made her training schedule lighter so that she can have time to learn about training dragons and patrolling Berk whenever necessary. “It’s true, but they still want me to be a shield maiden to carry on the familys’ legacy. Besides, they still think art is useless.”

“Useless?” Hiccup asked incredulously, he then picked up a beautifully made and detailed axe Raeda crafted earlier. “Rae, look at this. This is not useless. This is perfect! And that sword you’re working on. Also perfect! And these are the first weapons you’ve ever made by yourself. Do you know what was the first weapon Hicca and I made by ourselves? Daggers and they were nowhere near as good as these.”

“I’m not talking about this; I’m talking about making portraits, tapestries and sculptures. That’s my main goal.” Raeda explained. “That’s what my parents think is useless.”

“Show them your sketchbook. Let them see how good you are and they will let you be an artist. You remembered Hiccas’ secret passion to be a healer. She was afraid to speak up about this because she was scared that people wouldn’t accept it because of her previous reputation. But now things are different since she showed them her skills. People sometimes come to her if they have any burns or cuts to be healed. Do you know, dad asks her medical questions everyday to test her knowledge? He even started working on the designs for a new building to serve as an office for her when she becomes a healer.”

“Healer is one thing and artist is another.” Raeda pointed out.

Before Hiccup could argue any further, Sparkfire gave out a squawk, alerting her rider that her parents were coming. Raeda immediately took off her apron and took an arrow from her quiver. “Look, just drop it for now okay?” She whispered to Hiccup, before straightening up and twirling her arrow.

Hiccup sighed in defeat. As stubborn as he was, the only two people who could match up to his stubbornness are his sister and Raeda.

“Hey Mom! Hey Dad! What brings you two here?” Raeda asked as her parents came into the forge.

“Hello Raeda. We requested new weapons from Gobber earlier. We’re here to get them.” Helga answered.

“Gobbers’ not here, but you two can look around and see what you want.” Hiccup offered.

Both Helga and Thaddeus looked around, inspecting the weapons carefully before they got their eyes set on an axe and a sword. Helga picked up the axe while Thaddeus picked up the sword. Raedas’ eyes widened. Those weren’t just any axe and sword, those were the same weapons she made by herself! She just hoped that neither of her parents would see the signature she put on each weapon to show it was her work.

Her parents tried out the weapons before turning to Hiccup. “This is absolutely perfect!” Thaddeus said.

“I agree. Gobber has really outdone himself this time.” Helga said, admiring the axe.

Raeda answered before Hiccup could. “Yeah, he really has. He just finished making that, so you guys came at the perfect time.” She then gave a look that Hiccup as if to say ‘ _don’t tell them’_. Hiccup sighed in defeat again and just nodded in agreement.

“We’ll take these.” Helga said. She and her husband then left the forge.

Sparkfire started nudging her rider with a pleading expression on her face. _‘I want to go flying.’_ “Okay girl. We can go flying.” Raeda said, knowing exactly what her dragon wanted. She took her quiver and got on Sparkfire and they flew off, leaving Hiccup and Toothless behind. _‘Aww, I also want to go out flying.’_ Toothless warbled.

Later on, in the village, Hiccup and Hicca were walking around with their dragons. Hiccup was explaining to his sister what happened in the forge.

“I think you should talk to Rae about it, sis.” Hiccup said once he finished telling her what happened. “Maybe she’ll think twice if she heard it from someone who’s experience a similar situation.”

“I can try to convince her to talk to her parents about her future, but I can’t make any guarantees she’ll act on it. Remember, it took a battle against a gigantic dragon to finally have the courage to tell people my secret passion.” Hicca reminded him.

“Get every weapon sharpen and ready! I want the watchmen to stay on high alert!”

Recognizing that voice, the Haddock twins turned to see their father shouting out orders to some of the villagers as they rushed by, seeming to make preparations for something.

“I haven’t preparations like this being made since our last dragon raid.” Hicca commented as she saw catapults being prepared.

“Yeah, I wonder what’s going on.” Hiccup said. The two teens and their dragons then went to their dad to find out.

“Dad, what’s going on here?” Hicca asked.

Stoick immediately turned to his children “Mulch and Bucket just came back from a fishing trip. They reported that they saw a pirate ship heading in our direction.”

The twins’ eyes widened at that. “Pirates? Heading here?” Hiccup asked.

“Maybe they’re just passing by?” Hicca asked, hoping it was true.

“Well I’m not going to take a chance, especially not after last time.” Stoick said. “We’re preparing for a possible attack. I suggest you two and the other dragon riders do the same.”

The twins nodded in agreement. “Right dad, we’re on it.” Hiccup said firmly

“Don’t worry. Even if they attack us again, we have an element of surprise.” Hicca said, referring to the dragons

The twins went and managed to get everyone, except Raeda, at the Academy to alert them about the pirates.

“Oh no, not pirates! One time encounter with them was more than enough!” Fishlegs whimpered, remembering the last time.

“I say we let them come and face the wrath of me and Hookfang.” Snotlout said, flexing his arms.

“I say we blow their ship up.” Tuffnut said.

“Yeah, we can really smash it to pieces.” Ruffnut said, agreeing with her brothers’ plan.

“Hang on guys. For all we know, they’re just passing by. It would make things worse for if we just attacked them for no reason.” Hicca said.

“Last time, we all thought they were just passing by.” Fishlegs pointed out.

“Have you told Raeda yet?” Astrid asked the Haddock twins.

“Not yet, we haven’t really figured out how to tell her.” Hiccup answered.

“Tell who what?” Raeda asked as she and Sparkfire flew inside the Academy.

“Oh, h-hi Rae.” Hicca said nervously.

“You guys have any idea what’s going on in the village?” Raeda asked. “It looks like everyone’s preparing for a battle.”

Hicca decided to break the news to her “Uh, yeah. Well....you see....the thing is....well we don’t know for sure...but there’s good chance that--”

Snotlout then decided to break the news for her “Mulch and Bucket saw a pirate ship heading our way and everyone’s getting ready to fight them.” He said bluntly. Hicca, Hiccup and Astrid glared at him. “What? By the time Hicca will tell her what’s happening; the pirates would already be here by now.” Snotlout said defensively.

The other teens then turned to Raeda, concerned by how she would react to that. Raeda only held a blank expression as a memory came back to her.

_Flashback_

_Seven years ago, Vikings and pirates were at war with each other as the pirates have invaded Berk to take over the Island. The Berk warriors fought bravely against the pirates as the rest of the villagers hid to safety. All that is, except for an eight-year old raven haired girl who came was walking back home from the forest. When she came to the village, she was shock to see it has turned into a complete warzone._

_She tried to look for her parents but then her vision turned black! She became scared as she felt someone restraining her!_

_“Look what I found. What do we do with her?” A man she couldn’t recognise asked._

_“Take her back to the ship. We could use her as a hostage.” Another man answered._

_She started panicking as she felt herself being dragged away. She tried kicking desperately, begging the man that was restraining her to let her go, but it was in vain. When she felt the waves crashed on some rocks, she realized that she was at the docks. The pirate lifted the girl, when suddenly he was attacked from behind!_

_“Let the girl go!” A Berkian warrior shouted._

_He and the pirate then went into a duel, while another Berkian went to the small girl, who was quivering with fear. The warrior took the bag that was covering her head and looked at the girl with concern._

_“Raeda, sweetie, are you okay? You’re not hurt are you?”_

_Raeda looked up and saw Phlegma the Fierce in front of her. She wanted to answer that question but she couldn’t. She was too terrified to even think clearly._

_Phlegma then decided to take her to safety, her eyes wide alert as she kept the small child close to her._

_That was the first and, hopefully for Raeda, the last time she ever encountered pirates._

The Berkians won and the pirates were forced to retreat. When it finally sunk in to Raeda what nearly happened, she was completely traumatized. She stayed locked up in her room for a month and when she finally did, she couldn’t even look at the forest and she always felt like a pirate was just going to jump out of nowhere and kidnap her. Even now she still sometimes has nightmares.

“Raeda!” A voice brought her mind back to the current situation. She looked and saw the other teens and dragons looking at her with concern.

It was Hicca who spoke up “Rae, look. There is going to be a safe place set up for all those not fighting the battle. Hypothetically speaking, if the pirates do come, you can go and join those people. We will understand if you do.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about it. We can handle them. Besides for all we know, this time the pirates might actually be passing by Berk.” Hiccup added.

Raeda shook her head. “Thanks for the concern guys, but I’m fine. What happened was a long time back. It’s a hazy memory to me now. If we get invaded I don’t want to hide. I want to defend Berk. This is what I was trained to do.”

“Are you sure Rae? No one is forcing you to do this you know.” Astrid said.

“I am sure. Whatever plan you guys have made, I’m in.” Raeda said with confidence.

“Hmmm. That was easier than I thought.” Tuffnut said, believing Raeda. Ruffnut nodded in agreement.

Hiccup and Hicca, however, had their doubts. Hiccup then spoke up. “Well, we were planning on splitting up and scouting over Berk to see if the pirate ship is showing signs of going to Berk.”

“Okay then what are we waiting for. Let’s do it. The sooner we can go look for them, the sooner we will have something to report to the chief.” Raeda declared.

The Haddock twins exchanged a look before Hiccup spoke up again. “Okay, we’re going to split up in teams of two. Fishlegs and Snotlout, you guys go head to the south of Berk. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you two check the east. Raeda and Astrid, you go to the west and Hicca and I will check the North.”

“As soon as any of you see a pirate ship anywhere near Berk, you immediately send a fire signal in the sky and head to the village.” Hicca ordered.

“Wait! Why do I have to be paired with Fishface? I should be with Astrid to protect her from the pirates.” Snotlout complained.

“Are you saying I’m too weak to defend myself?!” Astrid asked, holding her axe up at Snotlout, daring him to say yes.

Snotlout quickly back-pedalled “What? Who me? Saying you’re weak? I don’t remember implying that ever. You know what? Actually Fishlegs is a good partner to have. Good choice made.” He and Hookfang immediately flew off, followed by Fishlegs and Meatlug.

The rest of the teens got on their dragons and flew off to their assigned destination, only Ruffnut and Tuffnut were flying North instead of east. “Guys, you’re supposed to go the east of Berk!” Hiccup called to the Thorston twins.

“Right! The east....” Ruffnut said with uncertainty as she and her brother shared a confused look.

Hicca rolled her eyes. “It’s that way.” She said, pointing to the east.

“We knew that!” Tuffnut said as the Thorston twins flew off in the right direction this time.

At the North Hiccup, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight all surveyed the ocean, looking for any signs of the pirate ship.

“So far so good. Not a pirate ship in sight,” Hiccup noted. Hicca noted that her brothers’ mind was somewhere else.

“What’s wrong bro?”

“It’s Rae. She claims to have gotten over her fear of pirates, but you know as well as I do how easy it is for her to put on her brave, tough girl mask.”

Hicca contemplated that before answering. “Yeah, but who knows, maybe facing pirates again is what she needs to completely move on from her fear.”

“You know very well about post-traumatic stress disorder. Are you one-hundred percent confident that Raeda could handle another encounter with the pirates and not have a panic attack or something.”

His sister pondered over that for a minute. Did she fully believe that? “You know, actually, I’m not completely sure. But I think we’re underestimating Raeda. A lot has changed about her from then. She’s learned combat skills from her parents, she is a skilled archer and she has Sparkfire. Plus there is no way the rest of us would let her get taken away without a fight, she knows that.”

Hiccup couldn’t help but agree to that. “Good point. Still, hopefully there will be no pirate attack on Berk in the future.”

So far Snotlout and Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut and Hiccup and Hicca saw no sign of the pirates. The same was about to be said for Astrid and Raeda, when Stormfly saw something from the corner of her eye and alerted the girls. Astrid and Raeda both looked to see where the blue Nadder was indicating to and their eyes widened at what they saw. A ship was brought to a secluded area of Berk and it wasn’t a ship that either of the girls recognised.

Quickly, they flew there dragons far away from the spot and landed, hoping that they weren’t seen. They made Stormfly and Sparkfire stay where they were, much to the two Nadders dismay, and quietly made their way to place they just saw, wanting to confirm their suspicions before they did anything.

“You know, you can stay with Sparkfire and Stormfly if you want.” Astrid said to Raeda.

Raeda sighed. “I told you, I’m fine. I can handle this.”

Astrid wasn’t so sure about that, though. Years of training alongside the Henderson girl made Astrid learn that whenever there is a possibility of confronting a threat or an enemy, Raeda always has her bow and arrow ready to fire whenever she needs to. Right now, she hasn’t even touched her arrows or her bow. But Astrid kept quiet, knowing she couldn’t convince Raeda to stay with the dragons and hoping that their suspicions wouldn’t be confirmed.

The two girls quickly and quietly came to the area where they saw the ship and hid behind a boulder. They peered over the boulder, watching as the men on the ship were taking out weapons.

“Keep moving lads! No need to delay Berks’ surprise invasion anytime soon.” Shouted one of the men, the leader most probably.

The girls’ eyes widened at this.

“We need to signal the others and get ready for a battle.” Astrid said. When she turned to Raeda, she noticed that the raven-haired girl seemed to be in deep thought. “Rae, are you listening?”

Before Raeda could reply, both girls were suddenly grabbed from behind!

“Well, well, look what we have here.” Said one of the pirates that grabbed Raeda.

The two pirates dragged both girls out from the boulder. “Captain! Look what we’ve found.” Shouted the man that was holding Astrid.

The captain and the other crew members turned around and saw the girls. “Well hello there ladies. Don’t either of you know that it’s rude to spy on other people, _especially_ pirates?” The captain sneered at them. Neither of the girls responded as Astrid glared at the pirate and Raeda kept a blank expression. “What? Not in the mood for talking either of you? Well, never mind.” The captain said, unfazed by the lack of fear Raeda and Astrid showed him. He then turned to the men holding them. “Take them both to the cells. We’re in need of new prisoners.”

The men started dragging the girls, but stopped when they heard two roars from the distance. Suddenly two familiar Nadders, sensing that their riders were in danger, attacked the pirates. The pirates started to panic, not expecting this at all, and the men who were holding Astrid and Raeda let the girls go to get their weapons ready. Stormfly blasted fire at the men while Sparkfire shot spines at them. The pirates ran for cover, giving the two Nadders the perfect opportunity to get their riders to safety. Raeda and Astrid quickly jumped on their dragons and flew away and Astrid had Stormfly fire in the sky, alerting the other dragon riders of the imminent danger.

“Hiccup look!” Hicca pointed to the sky.

Hiccups’ eyes widened when he saw the signal. “Let’s go.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Astrid spoke up. “So much for the pirates passing by. I hope everyone is ready.” She turned to Raeda and noticed that the Henderson girl still had a blank expression on her face. “Raeda?”

Raeda didn’t respond and simply turned Sparkfire to land in the forest. Astrid and Stormfly followed them.

Both girls got off their dragons and Astrid turned to Raeda, concerned about her friend who’s definitely experiencing some déjà vu. “Raeda?”

“They’re back.” Raeda simply said.

“What?” Astrid asked, confused.

“They’re the same pirates who invaded us last time. They came back.” Raeda said, trying desperately to keep herself together. “I should know that because I remember everything that happened last time. I remembered walking down the forest to everything suddenly becoming black, I remembered being dragged to the ship and being close to never seeing Berk again and the voices. There’s no doubt that I remember the voices. Those voices have been haunting me for years.” Unable to take it anymore, Raeda finally broke down. “I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could move on from that incident. That I might be able to handle this. But the truth is I’ve been lying to myself. I can’t handle this at all. And I am really, really terrified right now.” She cried.

She sat down, holding her head in her hands as she cried. Astrid was at a loss of what to do. She had never seen Raeda cry ever and had no idea how to comfort her after the whole ordeal. She was now wishing that Hiccup or Hicca was here to help. They would know what to say. Sparkfire licked her riders’ cheek, trying to comfort her the best way that she could do.

What the two girls did not know was that some of the pirates went ahead and had attacked Berk. Luckily, the warriors were prepared and have taken the rest of the villagers to safety. Once again, the Berkian warriors fought against the pirates to protect their village.

Helga and Thaddeus fought against six pirates using the new weapons they bought. Despite the number, both the Hendersons managed to overpower the six pirates.

“Where did you two get those weapons?” Gobber, who was nearby, asked after fighting off a pirate with his prosthetic hammer.

“Don’t tell me you can’t recognise your own work, Gobber.” Thaddeus replied.

“My own work? I wish I could craft like that. I didn’t make either of them.” Gobber said before he went to duel with another pirate.

That made both the Henderson adults confused.

“If Gobber didn’t make these then who did?” Helga asked.

Thaddeus then saw the bottom of the sword handle and became surprised. “Helga look!” He showed his wife what he discovered. Helga shared the same surprise as her husband and checked the bottom of her axe handle. However. Before either one of them could say anything, a battle roar brought them back to the current situation and they went back to fighting the invaders.

Roars from the sky brought the pirates attention as they looked up and saw six of the eight Berk Dragon Academy riders joining the battle. As these pirates weren’t there when Astrid and Raeda were captured, they were caught off guard by what they saw as they ran to take cover from the fire-breathing dragons.

“Take that pirates! Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!” Snotlout yelled as flew by with Hookfang creating a line of fire.

The Thorston twins were having the time of their lives having Barf and Belch causing explosions everywhere.

“Wow everything is chaotic here!” Ruffnut yelled in excitement.

“I know it’s amazing!” Tuffnut shouted as their Zippleback had fired another explosion.

It looked like the pirates were losing as they ran to avoid getting burnt by the dragons giving the Berk warriors the advantage, but then the group of pirates that were left at the ship suddenly joined the battle. After the experience from Raeda, Astrid and their Nadders, these pirates were prepared and immediately threw bolas at the dragons. Now it was the dragons turn to be caught off guard as they all got captured. Even Toothless and Midnight, two of the fastest dragons, got caught in the bolas. This stunned the Vikings long enough for the pirates to fight back, taking advantage of the moment of distraction.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Astrid, Raeda and their dragons heard the commotion and quickly made their way to the village to see that the pirates were starting to win and their friends were getting tied up along with their dragons.

“Oh no! This is bad! We have to do something!” Astrid exclaimed as she watched the pirates were defeating and tying up the Vikings.

Raeda, however, was not over her panic attack. ‘This is the exact same spot where I got captured. They’re going to capture us again!’ She thought as her knees went weak.

Both girls and dragons watched as the pirates claimed their victory, herding the Berkians to the Academy to lock them up in the cages there.

Astrid then turned to Raeda. “Rae! Come on get up! We have to save them. We’re the only ones left.”

Raeda desperately wanted to say ‘okay’ and help save Berk but she couldn’t “I can’t Astrid. I’m just not strong enough to face them again.” She said, trying to hold back her tears. Sparkfire again tried to comfort her rider.

“Stop that! Do you remember who you are? You are Raeda Henderson. The same girl who boldly stood up for Hiccup and Hicca when they were the village outcasts. The same girl who I envied because she has the skills that could match up with mine and is the one person who can intimidate me. Yes, you were traumatized by the pirates, but you _are_ strong enough to take them on and this time you’re not alone. You have Sparkfire and me and Stormfly and the rest of Berk who will be there for you once we free them from the pirates and we won’t be able to do that if we’re sitting here moping about the past!”

Once Raeda let Astrids’ words sink in, she stood up and took a deep breath. Astrid was right. She needed to face her fears sooner or later if she wants to rescue her parents and friends. They needed a plan.

Meanwhile at the Academy, the pirates had the Berkians kept in the cages that were once for the dragons while the dragons, who reached their shot limits, were all tied up and muzzled in the centre of the Academy, while Hiccup, Hicca, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were all tied up standing with them.

“Where are Raeda and Astrid?” Hicca whispered to her brother.

“I don’t know but hopefully they have Sparkfire and Stormfly with them.” Hiccup whispered back.

The leader of the pirates walked around the dragons observing them as they struggled to break out the their bounds. “Riding dragons, eh? Now I’ve seen everything. Just think of what we could do if _we_ flew dragons.” He said to crews, who all agreed to him. He then turned to the teens. “Since you six were the only ones who were riding them, you guys are going to show us how to fly them.”

“Yeah right!” Snotlout said defiantly.

“I’ll pass!” Tuffnut said nonchalantly.

“No deal.” Hicca said firmly.

Even Fishlegs, who was still frightened by the pirates, managed a glare in their direction after seeing Meatlug all tied up.

This did not seem to faze the captain. He continued speaking. “Alright then, looks like we’ll have to do this the hard way.” He gave a signal to his crew, who in reply got their swords ready. They made their way to the cages when suddenly, a line of spikes shot out from the sky, getting their attention.

“Hey you stupid pirates! You forgot one.” The girl riding a Nadder yelled from the entrance of the Academy.

“Astrid!” Hiccup exclaimed. What is she up to?

“Don’t just stand there fools! Get her!” The captain shouted to his crew. “Guard the prisoners!” He called behind his shoulder to two of the pirates.

The rest of the pirates left the Academy and Hiccup started struggling against his bonds. “Come on, come one.” He muttered, wanting to get on Toothless and go after the pirates before they could get Astrid.

Unbeknownst to anyone in the Academy, there was a figure standing outside the Academy waiting for the right moment to enter. As soon as most of the pirates left the Academy to go after Astrid and Stormfly, the figure silently crept into the Academy.

Suddenly, one of the pirates yelped in pain as he got to his knees. The other pirate went to see what happened while the prisoners looked on with confusion.

“What the-?” The other pirate asked as he saw what had stabbed the back of his fellow pirates’ right leg.

“Is that an arrow?” Hicca asked her brother. There was only one person they knew who could be behind that.

Suddenly the pirate who didn’t get hit looked up at the source and found Raeda standing there, with her bow and arrows ready. He got up and was about to attack her when a couple of spikes were shot from his left and pinned him to the wall.

“Good job girl!” Raeda said to Sparkfire, who squawked happily in reply. She and Sparkfire then ran to the cages.

“Raeda, you’re alright!” Helga said in relief.

“Thank goodness!” Her husband said, equally happy that his daughter was okay.

Raeda smiled at them before turning to her dragon “Fire!” she commanded her dragon, pointing to the metal lock. Sparkfire blasted the lock, causing it to melt, opening the cages. Raeda then went to her friends and using the sharp metal part from her arrow, cut through the ropes, freeing the riders and the dragons.

“Rae, I am so glad to see you.” Hicca said as her best friend cut through her ropes.

“Yeah perfect timing.” Hiccup commented, smiling as he saw how Raeda faced the two pirates without flinching.

Outside the Academy, the pirates, unaware that the prisoners escaped, had Astrid and Stormfly surrounded. Both of them were on the ground as Astrid was calmly on her dragons’ saddle while Stormfly growled at the pirates, daring them to come and attack her and her rider. The pirates started to close in when they were suddenly stopped by a plasma blast.

“Hey there! Remember us?” Hiccup shouted as he and the other dragon riders started attacking from the sky, while the rest of the Berkian warriors, led by Stoick charged after the pirates. Caught off guard once again, the pirates fought a losing battle as they were soon defeated by the warriors and the dragon riders.

At sunset, the eight dragon riders brought the last of the tied up pirates to a deserted island far, far away from Berk.

Seven of the dragon riders left as soon as they dropped the pirates. Raeda was about to leave as well, but after looking at the pirates, she then got off Sparkfire and approached them with her dragon right by her side on full alert in case the pirates try to do something.

“This is a warning. Next time you guys attacked Berk again. You. Will. Be. Ashes.” She threatened in a low-menacing voice. That combine with her cold glare and her dragon growling in agreement made the pirates shudder in fear. Satisfied, she got on Sparkfire and they joined their friends.

Later that night in the Henderson household, Sparkfire was fast asleep after the excitement for the day and Raeda was just about to get ready for bed when her parents stopped her.

“Rae, do you have a minute?” Thaddeus asked.

“Yeah, sure. What’s up?” Raeda responded walking to her parents.

“We just wanted to tell you that we are so proud of how you and Astrid handled those pirates today.” Her mom said.

“Your mother is right, if it wasn’t for you two and your dragons, Berk would have been facing some tragedies right now.” Her father added.

Raedas’ eyes lit up and she smiled “Thanks mom, thanks dad.” A thought then came to her. She took a deep breath before speaking up again. “Listen; there is something I need to tell you two.” Her parents looked at her, waiting for her to tell them. “Everything that has happened until now, flying dragons, fighting an enormous dragon and defeating pirates, it showed me what I am capable of. It showed me that I can be a pretty good shield maiden if I put my mind to it.” She paused for a minute, before speaking up again. “But that’s not what I want to do in the future. Being a shield maiden is not my calling, being an artist is. If you guys could just take a minute to see some of my work, then you would definitely be considering it.”

Her parents smiled, knowing that this was coming.

“We don’t need to see your work.” Thaddeus said.

“Because we already know.” Helga informed her.

That made Raeda surprised. “You do?”

Her parents then brought out the new weapons “Should have known Gobber could not pull off something as artistic as this.” Her mother said as she and her husband showed the bottom of the handles of both the weapons, revealing the initials RH engraved on them.

Thaddeus then spoke up “Look Rae, I know that these past years your mother and I have been pushing you to reach perfection. It wasn’t just carry out the family name. In fact, that was a small reason to why we trained you so much. It’s just that the night you nearly got taken by the pirates was the most terrifying night of our lives. It was then when we realised how vulnerable you were and how easy it was for someone to take you when we’re not there to protect you. We’ve lost so many of our family already; we didn’t want to lose you too.”

“But today, you’ve shown us two things. One, you showed us how capable you are in protecting yourself with that dragon of yours by your side and two; you should us you’re amazing artistic abilities. Hiccup told us that these weapons are the first ever weapons you made by yourself. Rae, these are amazing! Neither Thaddeus, nor I could do something like this.” Helga commented, admiring her axe.

“We talked to Gobber a while back and he said that there is another position open as a blacksmiths’ apprentice. Would you be interested?” Raedas’ father asked rhetorically.

Raedas’ eyes widened at that. “Yes! I would love that! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She said excitedly, hugging both her parents who returned the hug.

**_With a new era on Berk, a lot of people have changed._ **

The next day, Raeda worked happily at the forge with Hicca and Hiccup constructing a new sword for a customer.

**_Some have made the change instantly and others with the support of families and friends slowly came to that change._ **


	6. In Dragons We Trust

**Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon**

**Chapter 6: In Dragons We Trust**

 

**_As you fly through life it's always good to know who you can trust... and who you can't._ **

Hiccup and Hicca are falling from the sky. Before either one of them could hit the ocean, Toothless and Midnight swooped in and caught their riders.

“Good job girl!” Hicca complimented, petting her dragon.

“Nice catch, bud. A little close...” Hiccup commented.

**_Hicca and I know we can always count on Midnight and Toothless. And it's important for them to know... that no matter what... they can count on us._ **

Hiccup then turned to Fishlegs. “Alright Fishlegs, you’re up.”

“I really don’t want to jump.” Fishlegs said nervously.

“The whole point of this is to believe that she's gonna catch you! It's a trust exercise.” Hiccup informed him.

“This is very important when riding and training dragons, it’s all about trust.” Hicca added.

“I prefer to trust when my feet are firmly on the ground, thank you very much!” Fishlegs stated.

“Why don’t you move aside and let me show you how it’s done, chicken-legs.” Snotlout sneered. He then jumped off Hookfang “WHOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!”

But the rest of the teens noticed that Hookfang wasn’t really flying to get his rider. In fact, it didn’t look like Hookfang even noticed that Snotlout has jumped off. “So...should we mention something to Hookfang?” Tuffnut asked.

“Let me think about it... after a nap.” Ruffnut replied.

“Hookfang! Go get him!” Astrid commanded.

“Hurry!” Raeda shouted.

The Monstrous Nightmare then looked down and finally noticed his rider was falling. “Not feeling the trust!” Snotlout shouted.

 _‘Snotlout! When did you fall off! I guess that explains why you were so quiet!’_ Hookfang finally snapped out of it and dived down to rescue his rider. The dragon managed to catch the boy but there was no time to steer away from a nearby house. “AH! COMIN' IN TOO HOT! AHH!” They then crashed through the roof.

“Oh, no.” Raeda said fearfully as she realized exactly whose roof Snotlout and Hookfang crashed into.

Unfortunately, Snotlout and Hookfang found out as well. “Mildew!” _‘Whoops._ ’ Hookfang thought. He then jumped on Hookfang and flew away, crashing through the roof again!

“You'll pay for this!” Mildew warned.

“Oh, something tells me we are going to be hearing about this later...” Hiccup said, knowing very well what’s going to happen next.

“Yep.” Hicca agreed, she then turned to Snotlout and Hookfang who have joined the others. “Couldn’t you two have at least flown out of the hole you came from instead of making a new one on Mildews’ roof?” Snotlout just shrugged in reply. _‘He was steering.’_ Hookfang warbled.

Later that evening, just as the twins predicted, their father has been informed of the incident and has set down some shingles, nails and hammers on the table.

“Shingles again? I’m pretty sure we already had roofing material for dinner last night?” Hiccup asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“I’m more in the mood for some soup.” Hicca added. However, the stern look from their father has told the twins that he is not buying it so Hiccup decided to get to the point.

“It was an accident, Dad. I'm sure Mildew's just exaggerating to make it sound worse than it is.”

“He always does that.” Hicca pointed out.

“A dragon and a huge, obnoxious boy crashed through his roof... twice! What part of that is exaggerated?” Stoick asked.

“Well..um...none.” Hicca said, rubbing her arm.

“Yeah, well it does sound bad if you're gonna... stick to the facts.” Hiccup tried. His sister gave him a look that said _‘Really’_ and he gave a shrug in reply.

“Of all the houses on the island, a dragon had to crash through Mildew's! You know he hates dragons more than anyone else!” Stoick exclaimed.

“Trust us dad, we know that all too well...You might wanna talk to him about his attitude.” Hiccup said.

“Or maybe move his house further away from Berk.” Hicca said before muttering in a low voice. “Like on another island.”

“Listen to me, you two. I gave both of you the responsibility of training those dragons. Everyone knows that! All eyes are upon you two. Whatever those beasts do reflects on both of you. And whatever either of you do reflects on me.” Stoick explained.

“We’re sorry, Dad. You're right.”

“We’re really sorry dad.”

“You two are gonna go back to Mildew's and fix that roof. Without your dragons!” Stoick declared.

“Shouldn’t Snotlout be helping us with that? He’s the one who crashed through.” Hicca pointed out.

“That’s true but I want a guarantee that the job will be done and there will not be any more destruction to the roof.” Stoick answered.

“Fair point.” Hicca admitted.

“Got a break there, guys.” Hiccup said to Hicca, Toothless and Midnight.

“Could be worse.” Hicca agreed. The twins started walking towards their rooms when their dad stopped them.

“Ah! Not so fast! Aren't you two forgetting something? It's boot night! You two know what that means.” He then handed each twin a boot “They need to be aired out.”

The twins cringed at the smell. “UGH! I think it's going to take a lot more than air.” Hiccup commented.

“I think I’m going to faint.” Hicca groaned, keeping the boot as far away from her as possible.

The twins went outside to put the boots out and saw that the other teens were doing the same.

“Uck. I hate boot night!” Fishlegs complained as he put his dads’ boots outside.

As soon as Raeda put her dads’ boots to the ground, she let out a breath she was holding. “I need to pour perfume in those boots.” She muttered, walking back inside her house.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut, like the Haddock twins, held one boot each. Ruffnut then shoved the boot she was holding into her brothers’ face. “Why is his left foot always so much smellier than his right?” Tuffnut wondered.

“Oh, no...” Snotlout mumbled, trying desperately not to throw up as he set his fathers’ boots on the ground.

The next day, however, the villagers were in for a surprise.

“Where are my boots?” Stoick asked. He then looked at the other villagers and noticed their bare feet. “Where are _your_ boots?”

“They've all been stolen! Every last one!” Gobber announced.

“Oh! _That_ explains why me feet are so cold.” Bucket said, not at all bothered that his boots are missing.

“Who would do this?” Mulch asked.

“Whoever did this left a mighty big footprint.” Mildew said as he pointed to a footprint in the ground. Fishlegs looked at the footprint “Oh! Those are Zippleback tracks. You can tell by the half-moon shaped arches.” Fishlegs looked up and saw the teens staring at him. “That's Dragon 101 guys, I don't gotta fill you in on that.”

“So, a dragon walked through here - a Zippleback, according to my friend, Fishlegs. But that doesn't mean he took everyone's boots.” Hiccup said.

“Yeah, lot’s of dragons walk around the village.” Hicca added.

Mildew wasn’t buying it “Well, there's just one way to find out. Follow the footprints.”

Everyone did just that and the footprints lead them to the Academy where they found all the boots gathered in a pile with a Zippleback sleeping on top of it.

“So there's a bunch of boots piled around a Zippleback. That doesn't mean--” Hiccup tried to say before his dad showed him a boot with bite marks on it. He looked at his sister, who gave him a look that told him to back-pedal. “Okay, fine, he took the boots.”

This announcement brought a series of complaints from the villagers.

“How are we supposed to do any work in this weather without our boots?”

“This is outrageous!”

“Now, how long before something's done about these creatures, Stoick? How much more can we stand?!” Mildew protested.

“Talk about being dramatic.” Raeda muttered.

Gobber decided to put an end to this “Listen to yourselves. ‘My feet are cold!’ You're Vikings! Everything is cold! We faced a lot worse than freezing feet. I'll fix your boots for yeh. You'll be back to work in no time.”

“You all heard Gobber. You'll be getting your boots back as good as new.” Stoick said.

“That's it? No consequence for these dragons?” Mildew asked in disbelief.

“They took our boots, Mildew. The world isn't coming to an end! Gobber’s right, we have faced worse.” Stoick said.

“Oh, don't be so sure. Dragon's are wild and unpredictable beasts. There's no telling what else they'll do behind our sleeping backs.” Mildew warned.

“We are working to train them!” Hicca protested.

“Yeah and it’s not like they destroy things on purpose!” Hiccup added.

“Bah!” Mildew said, dismissing their arguments. Hiccup then thought of something “But you do have a point, Mildew.” “Uh-whuh?” Mildew asked confused.

“Hiccup are you feeling okay?” Hicca asked as she tried to check her brothers’ temperature.

Hiccup waved her hand away from his face. “They are wild animals. And they need us to keep an eye on them. And rest assured we will do just that!” Hiccup announced to everyone. His sister fake cough to get his attention and she gestured to the Zippleback, now waking up on the pile of boots “Will you get out of there?!” Hiccup shouted at the Zippleback.

 _‘What’s his problem?’_ The left head said.

 _‘Yeah, all we did was took a nap.’_ The right head agreed. _‘Where did all these boots come from?’_

Later on Hiccup and Hicca gathered the other teens and discussed the new plan.

“We're going on night patrol.” Hiccup announced.

“Night patrol! I love it!” Tuffnut said excitedly, before he got confused “What is it?”

“Really?” Hicca asked, shaking her head.

“It's where we patrol... at night, to keep an eye on the dragons. Make sure they don't get blamed for anything else.” Hiccup explained.

“Um, have you two cleared this with our parents? Because some of us might not be allowed out after a certain hour.” Fishlegs said nervously.

“Not allowed? Or _afraaaaid?_ ” Snotlout taunted.

“Hey! Things happen after dark.” Fishlegs said defensively.

“Guys! We have to do this. You heard Mildew; he wants the dragons banished.” Hiccup reminded them.

“We don’t need to give him any more reasons to have them banished.” Hicca said.

“Permission to shoot first and ask questions later?” Ruffnut requested.

“Permission to skip the question?” Tuffnut added. “We're not going to shoot anyone! We’re just going on patrol.” Hiccup said.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Tuffnut asked.

“It's not supposed to be fun. It's a ‘Hiccup and Hicca’ idea.” Astrid answered.

“These ideas are crazy and dangerous most of the time, but never fun.” Raeda added.

“Exactly.” Hiccup said before he and his sister realized what the two girls just said “What?”

“Hey!”

At night the teens started their first night patrol. Astrid, as part of her assignment on the night patrol, knocked on the door of one of the houses.

“Hello, sir!” Astrid said before she realized who was at the door. “Ah, umm, ah--ma'am. My name is Astrid, and I'm with the Dragon United Monitoring Brigade.

“Dumb?” The woman asked, reading Astrids’ sash.

“Yes.” Astrid sighed. Why she went along with the name for the night patrol was beyond her. At least Raedas’ designs made the sash look pretty. “That is correct. I definitely did not come up with that idea... But it is easy to remember. If you have any dragon-related problems, contact us. Just cup a hand on either side of your mouth and at the top of your lungs yell...” She was cut off when the woman slammed the door on her face “Dumb.”

Snotlout and Hookfang were working on their patrol when something caught the eyes of the Jorgenson boy. “Halt! Who goes there?!”

“Take a wild guess.” Gobber replied sarcastically. Years of hanging out with the Haddock twins gave him good practice.

Snotlout huffed and crossed his arms “I don't think I like your attitude.”

“I _know_ I don’t like yers.” Gobber retorted.

“Yeah well too bad, cause I'm the one with the sash.” Snotlout said, gesturing proudly to the well-designed sash. Clearly he didn’t see the problem with the name.

“Let me take a closer look at that.” Gobber said, looking at the sash. “Dumb'? Well, that suits you perfectly.”

“Okay, I think we're done here.” Snotlout said dismissing the blacksmith. He turned to his dragon and saw that the Monstrous Nightmare is missing! Starting to panic, Snotlout went to look for Hookfang.

Meanwhile, at Fishlegs’ post, the nervous Ingerman boy was patrolling the area when he suddenly heard a noise. “Oh! What was that?” A louder noise caused him to run away screaming. After he left, a figure emerged from the shadows, revealing to be-

“Whoa...” Tuffnut said

“Whoa.” Ruffnut repeated.

“Did you see me scare him?” They said in unison. This caused yet another argument.

“No, I scared him!”

“No, I scared him!”

“No me!”

“No, no, no!” “Hey! Ugh!”

“It was me! I did it!”

“Clearly me!”

Meanwhile Hiccup, Toothless, Hicca and Midnight were on sky patrol.

“Status report?” Hiccup requested from his sister as she and Midnight flew over to the boys.

“All peaceful in the Northern and Western side of Berk. No rogue dragon has been spotted.” Hicca stated.

Hiccup was satisfied with that “Well, Mildew will be happy to know what dragons do at night: they sleep, like everyone else.”

“Something we should be doing right now.” Hicca commented, while yawning.

What both of them didn’t know was that they were in for a surprise tomorrow.

The next morning, all the villagers came to the Great Hall for breakfast as usual. Walking inside, everyones’ jaws dropped when they saw that the inside of the Great Hall was completely destroyed! No one said anything until a scream broke the silence.

“Raeda?” Hicca asked, looking towards the source of the scream.

The raven-haired girl just stood there with her deep blue eyes wide and her hands covering her mouth. She slowly lifted her hand and pointed to what she was looking at. “My-my tapestry.” She whispered. The others look and saw what has once been a beautiful and detailed tapestry of Berk during the sunset made by Raeda, was now slashed and ruined with the image of Berk barely recognisable “It took me eight months to finish that!” Hicca went to comfort her best human friend, knowing how much her artwork means to her.

“Who would do something like this?” Stoick wondered, surveying the destroyed area.

“Oh, all the evidence points to a dragon to me!” Fishlegs commented.

“We don't know for sure, Fishlegs...” Hiccup said, hoping that the Ingerman boy would take the hint.

Unfortunately for Hiccup and the other teens, Fishlegs didn’t “Sure, we do. Look at these claw marks. It was obviously a Monstrous Nightmare. The spacing of the talons is dead on.”

“Once again, thank you, Fishlegs!” Hiccup said sarcastically.

“Yeah, that’s really helpful at the moment.” Hicca added with equal sarcasm.

“Oh, stop, it's just basic stuff.” Fishlegs said, not getting the sarcasm either.

“But how could this happen? We had every dragon accounted for at all times! Right, guys?” Astrid asked, turning to the other teens

The rest of the teens nodded their heads except for Snotlout, who was starting to look nervous. “When you say, ‘at all times,’ and ‘every Dragon’, what exactly do you mean?”

Putting two and two together, Hiccup sighed and turned to his cousin while his sister crossed her arms “Okay, what happened, Snotlout?” “Well, I was detaining a suspect who wasn't showing sufficient respect to the sash.” Snotlout explained while glaring at the said suspect.

“I think I showed sufficient respect to a sash that says ‘dumb’." Gobber retorted.

“We've got to change that name.” Astrid commented.

“You should let me be the one to decide on the names, bro.” Hicca said to her brother, who offered no retort as he realised the ‘DUMB’ might not have been the best name.

Snotlout continued with his explanations “Anyways, as I was questioning said suspect, Hookfang may have-and I'm not saying he did-but it is possible he wandered off for a few...”

“Seconds?” Ruffnut guessed.

“Minutes?” Tuffnut tried

“Hours.” Snotlout admitted.

“Oh, that's way longer than minutes.” Tuffnut commented.

Raeda silently listened to Snotlouts’ explanation while looking at her torn tapestry. When he was finished, she took her eyes off the tapestry and turned to him. “Snotlout.” She said calmly.

“Yes?” Snotlout asked, unaware of what was about to come.

Raedas’ expression suddenly turned from calm to angry “I’m going to kill you!” she shouted as she charged up to Snotlout, who quickly hid behind Fishlegs in fear. Fishlegs tried to move away, not wanting to be in the path of Raedas’ anger. Luckily for both boys, Astrid and Hicca held Raeda back, trying to calm her down.

Mildew decided to make an appearance “Oh, no, it's true! The Great Hall! So many memories. My three weddings, their three funerals. Oh, the funerals!” He said dramatically.

“A dragon must have gone on a rampage.” Gobber explained. He then turned to the chief “I hate to say it, Stoick, but you're going to have to-”

“I know what has to be done, Gobber.” Stoick simply said.

“So do I!” Mildew said. “Starting tonight, every night, I want all the dragons put in the Academy under lock and key.” Stoick declared.

The teens were shocked and upset by this. ‘A dragon lockdown?’ Mildew was shocked as well, but not for the same reason. “What? That's it? Look what they did!” He exclaimed, gesturing to the Great Hall.

“This just doesn't make any sense! A dragon wouldn't just come in here and destroy the place! I mean, none of the food was even touched!” Hiccup pointed out.

That wasn’t enough for the chief “I don't know why dragons do what they do, but I'm not going to let them do any more damage.” He said firmly.

The next day, all the teens took their dragons to the Academy to keep them in lockdown. No one was happy about this new arrangement, especially the Haddock twins.

Stoick couldn’t help but feel guilty and upset at watching his childrens’ downcast expressions. He sighed. Gobber noticed this and tried to reassure his best friend. “You didn’t have any other choice. The evidence was all there. The villagers would have complained if you didn’t do anything about it.”

“I know. But to Hiccup and Hicca, when I punish the dragons, I'm punishing them.” He stated, knowing well the close bond between his children and their dragons.

“Yeah, that boy and that girl think that the dragons can do no wrong.” Gobber commented.

Stoick sighed again “I just hope they understand that while a father does what's best for his children, a chief must do what's best for the village.”

Meanwhile in the Academy, Fishlegs started to sing his dragon to sleep while giving her a blanket “Sleep, little Meatlug in your bed, where yummy little boulders dance in your head.” Meatlug, however, refused to sleep, not wanting to sleep where her rider wasn’t. “That usually works! Our whole bedtime routine is upset! She won't even lick my feet, thanks to--”

Snotlout, knowing what Fishlegs was going to say, cut him off “Watch it, Fishlegs! At least my dragon doesn't need a lullaby and a blanky.”

“Actually, it's your fault that all our dragons have to sleep in jail.” Ruffnut pointed out.

“And my tapestry is ruined.” Raeda added bitterly. Hicca and Astrid managed to convince her not to attack Snotlout, but she still didn’t forgive him.

“Yeah. You don't see _our_ dragon going on a rampage and wrecking stuff. Well, not unless we want him to.” Tuffnut said.

“I don't think a dragon wrecked the Great Hall or stole the boots.” Hiccup said.

“Me neither.” Hicca said, agreeing with her brother.

“None of us wants to believe it either, guys, but you two saw the proof.” Astrid pointed out.

“What proof? You saw the footprints, too. They were supposed to be made by a Zippleback, but they were no deeper than mine.” Hiccup said. He then walked to a footprint made by Barf and Belch “Look at these! I could lie down in them!”

“Well, there could be a lot of explanations why a dragon made shallow footprints.” Fishlegs said. “Like, hello, he was trying to be sneaky?” Ruffnut added.

“I agree with Hiccup, I’ve never seen a Zippleback make tracks that shallow. And another thing; why would the Zippleback be walking around when it could easily fly?” Hicca pointed out.

“Alright, so maybe the Zippleback didn’t steal the boots. That could have been set, but what about the Great Hall?” Astrid asked the auburn twins. Before either one of them could answer, Hookfang decided to flame up in annoyance of the new lockdown.

Hiccup turned to his cousin “Snotlout, do something about him, please? We're trying to think over here.”

“Yeah, I gave up thinking. Never been happier.” Tuffnut said contentedly.

“Snotlout!” Hiccup said annoyed.

“We don’t need a burnt Academy right now! Keep him in line!” Raeda said, equally annoyed.

“I'm not the boss of him. He always does that when he gets angry!” Snotlout said defensively.

Hookfang walks away, leaving a scorched floor. That got Hiccas’ attention as she nudged her brother and pointed at the floor. It took a few seconds for Hiccup to understand what his sister is thinking of. “Or goes on a rampage. That's how we can explain the Great Hall! Come on, sis! We've got to tell dad about this!”

The two of them immediately left to find their dad. Once they found him in the Great Hall, they wasted no time in telling him their new discovery.

“Just hear us out, Dad. When a Monstrous Nightmare gets mad, his whole body bursts into flames. Look at these walls! Not one single scorch mark.” Hiccup explained.

“And the Zippleback tracks that were made! The ones we saw were shallower than a normal Zippleback track. Plus, don’t you think it’s strange that a _dragon_ would walk around Berk instead of fly?” Hicca added.

Stoick listened to his childrens’ explanations and sighed. As much as he wanted to take their statements, he knew he couldn’t “Hiccup, Hicca, until I have solid proof that it was something else, the dragons stay where they are.”

Unbeknownst to the three of them, Toothless and Midnight caught an unfamiliar scent and decided to investigate it. They traced the scent to the armoury while a nearby Viking watches them. When the two dragons came inside, they saw a barrel of explosives which were about to be set off. As quickly as they could, the two Night Furies scrambled out of the armoury just as it exploded!

“Fire, fire!” The villagers screamed.

Stoick, Hiccup and Hicca heard the commotion and ran outside “The armoury! Grab some buckets!” Stoick ordered. He was about to joined them, but stopped at what he saw. “Toothless? Midnight?”

The same Viking who was watching the two dragons enter the armoury spoke up “It was them! They set the armoury on fire!”

“How dare they?” One of the Viking women said in outrage.

“Midnight?” Hicca said in disbelief.

“Toothless?” Hiccup said in equal disbelief.

“Every one of our weapons...gone!” Stoick exclaimed looking at the destroyed armoury.

“Prudence! My poor darling, I'm so sorry.” Gobber said sadly to a ruined sword as he picked it up. “You should've had a long, blood-letting life.”

“She didn't have to die, Gobber. Hiccup and Hiccas’ dragons left us utterly defenceless.” Mildew said, walking up.

“Dad, you know Toothless and Midnight wouldn't do this.” Hiccup said.

“They’re innocent! They must have been framed or something!” Hicca pleaded, hoping the chief would listen.

“Sure, listen to your boy and girl, Stoick. That's what got us into this mess!” Mildew sneered. “See what happens when you leave your dragon all alone to wait outside?”

That statement got Hiccups’ attention “What did you say?”

Ignoring the others, Gobber sadly picked up another burnt sword “Cindy! Oh, I guess your throat-slicing days are over.”

Stoick was now faced with a dilemma. After what just happened he knew that as chief he couldn’t have the dragons stay on Berk anymore but he also knew that if he made the decision then Hiccup, Hicca and the other teens will be completely devastated by this. After a deliberation with himself, he sighed. He knew what needed to be done “These dragons have done too much damage. It's not longer safe to have them on Berk. I want them gone.”

This decision was given mixed reviews. While some of the villagers were in agreement with the chiefs’ decision, especially after what just happened to the armoury, the others were shocked and upset, mainly the eight teens.

“What?!” Hiccup exclaimed.

“No!” Hicca cried.

“Finally!” Mildew shouted overjoyed. At last he got his wish!

Stoick continued speaking “Gather all the dragons and put them in the cages! By the next morning, all the dragons are banished to Dragon Island.”

“Oh, what a glorious day that will be. Party at my house!” Mildew exclaimed in joy. He then walked towards the Haddock twins. “Don't forget, you two. Right after you drop off your dragons, both of you will be fixing my roof.” He left and the twins could do nothing but simply glare daggers at his retreating form.

“This is wrong...” Hiccup said.

“I know, it's horrible. It's the worst day of my life...” Astrid said sadly.

“No, Astrid. Something here doesn't add up.” Hiccup explained.

“All I know is I'm losing my dragon.” Fishlegs said.

“For now, yeah. Okay, but Hicca and I just need time to fix this.” Hiccup started to say, before he was cut off by Snotlout.

“Fix what? There’s nothing left to fix except for Mildew’s roof. We lost.” Snotlout said bitterly before walking away. Fishlegs and Astrid joined him, both looking downcast.

“Forget it, it's over.” Ruffnut said.

“Yeah, forget it.” Tuffnut repeated. With that he and his sister walked away. This left Hicca, Hiccup and Raeda.

“I hate to say this, guys; but they’re right. It is over. We did everything we could do to help, but it just wasn’t enough.” Raeda said sadly to her best human friends.

“I refuse to believe that the dragons are behind all this. It just doesn’t add up. And I know for a fact that Midnight and Toothless would never try to set the armoury on fire. Neither by accident nor on purpose, right bro?” She turned to her brother and the two girls saw that Hiccup wasn’t listening to the conversation. “Hiccup?” Hicca asked, nudging her brother.

That got her brothers’ attention as he looked up. “Sorry. I was just trying to figure this whole thing out.”

“Well I hope one of you manages to figure it out in the morning.” Raeda said before leaving.

Unfortunately for her, neither of the twins could figure it out and soon, all the teens found themselves on Dragon Island saying goodbye to their dragons.

“I'm gonna miss you...” Astrid said as she hugged her dragon. The blue Nadder let out a sad squawk.

“It’s not going to be the same without you.” Raeda said to Sparkfire as she gave her dragon one last affectionate scratch.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut each hugged one head of the Zippleback sadly, before switching with the other twin to hug the other head.

Fishlegs gathered up some rocks for Meatlug. “Okay, Meatlug. There's plenty of rocks if you get hungry... and don't eat any limestone. You know it doesn't agree with you.” He said, trying to hold back his tears.

Snotlout did his best to mask his sadness and simply patted his dragon on the snout “Be strong, buddy. I know you're gonna miss me--” He didn’t get to finish what he was saying because Hookfang suddenly got distracted by a bird and flew away to chase it. “Okay. He's crying...he's crying on the inside!”

Hiccup removed Toothless’ saddle without saying anything. The boy had offered to spend the night making an automatic tailfin like the one made in Snoggletog, but Toothless refused. He did not want to fly if his rider wasn’t with him. It just wasn’t the same.

“We'll be back for you guys. We promise.” Hiccup said to his dragon.

“We’re not going to give up. We will get you guys back on Berk.” Hicca said, as determined as her brother. They started to leave but then noticed the two dragons trying to follow them. This put the Haddock twins on the verge of tears.

“No, bud! You and Midnight have to stay here, and take care of the other dragons. It's gonna be okay, Toothless. Trust me...”

“You guys should go and look for your hatchlings. I’m sure they would be happy to see their parents again.” Hicca said as a tear rolled down her face.

The twins joined the other teens back on the boat and all eight of them shared one last look at their dragons before they disappeared from the view.

Hiccup finally broke the silence “I can’t stop thinking about what Mildew said last night....h-he said, ‘See what happens when you leave your dragon to wait outside?’ He knew Toothless and Midnight wasn't with us just before the armoury fire.” He said to Astrid, Raeda and Hicca.

“So...?” Astrid asked, not seeing where this was going.

“So...so, he lives on the other side of the island. What was he doing in town at night? And how would he know where we were before the fire?” Hiccup wondered.

Hicca thought about what her brother has just said. “Now that you mention it, it does seem strange that for a guy who lives far away from Berk, he always manages to show up right when those crimes took place.”

“You two really think he was responsible for that fire?” Astrid asked.

“We think he did all of it. And we think he did it so our dad would get rid of all the dragons.” Hiccup said

“Think about it, Mildew has been wanting the dragons gone since day one.” His sister added.

Raeda suddenly became angry. “I can’t believe that guy would stoop so low! It is one thing to get mess with my artwork and it is another thing to get Sparkfire and the other dragons banished from Berk! And he did both! When we get back to Berk, I am going to pay him a visit and-”

“Hang on, Rae. We don’t know for sure if it was Mildew or not.” Astrid said, interrupting the raven haired girl. She then turned to the Haddock twins “That's a pretty serious accusation. You guys need evidence for it, where are you going to find that?”

Hicca and Hiccup exchanged a glance and both knew immediately how they were going to prove it.

Later that day, Hiccup and Hicca were busy fixing Mildews’ roof. Both were tempted to refuse, especially with the strong possibility that Mildew was the one responsible for the dragons getting banished, but they couldn’t for two reasons. One; Mildew would go complaining to their father again and two; they needed an excuse to be at his house.

From the roof, Hicca surveyed the grounds and saw Mildew walking away from his house with his sheep, Fungus, in tow. Time to execute their plan.

“All clear.” She whispered to her brother.

Hiccup simply nodded and thrown a rope that was tied to the roof inside Mildews’ house. The plan was simple; Hicca would stay on the roof and keep an eye out for Mildew while Hiccup would search around Mildews’ house for evidence.

As soon as his feet touched the floor, Hiccup looked around the room. He came across four shield portraits, three of them showing portraits of three different women and one showing Fungus. “Wife...wife...wife...” He stopped at the portrait of Fungus. “Hmm....well, Mildew definitely has a type.” Hiccup shuddered, feeling disturbed by that. He continued to search the room until something, actually three things, caught his eyes. He walked across the room to pick them up. “What the...?” His eyes widened when he saw what they were; a pair of fake Zippleback feet and a fake Monstrous Nightmare claw!

Suddenly, his sisters’ voice broke him out of his thoughts. “Mildew’s coming, Hiccup! Quick! Climb back up!” Hiccup immediately dropped the evidence and scrambled to climb up the rope as the doorknob started to rattle. Hiccup nearly got to the roof, when Mildew came inside.

“I'm home, ladies!” Mildew said cheerfully to the portraits, unaware of the boy who was hanging on the rope. “What's that you say...? Nothing? Perfect.” He walked across the room and picked up the Zippleback feet and the Monstrous Nightmares’ claw. “Ah, these served us well, didn't they, Fungus? Shame we have to get rid of them.”

Watching Mildew walk away with the evidence, Hiccups’ eyes grew wide in panic. If Mildew gets rid of them, they will never prove that he was responsible. Then again, if Hiccup had picked up the evidence, Mildew would have found out and there was no telling what he would do to stop them from exposing the truth.

Mildew left the room with Fungus walking behind him. Hiccup was using all his strength not to fall when a drop of sweat fell down his face and on to Mildews’ sheep! Fungus looked up and saw Hiccup hanging there. He then let out a ‘baa’ to try and alert his master, but luckily for Hiccup; Mildew ignored the sheep and walked outside.

Hiccup continued to climb up and with the help from his sister, got back onto the roof in time to see Mildew walking towards the cliff. Hicca looked to see her brothers’ line of sight and saw Mildew carrying three things. She started to worry, knowing what was going to happen. “Are those...”

Knowing what his sister is going to ask him, Hiccup nodded his head in response and the twins could do nothing but stay on the roof and watch helplessly as Mildew threw away the only evidences into the vast ocean.


	7. Alvin And The Outcasts

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 7: Alvin And The Outcasts**

 

**_There's an old Viking saying: "When your friends are roasting on the spit, you're the one who feels the fire."_ **

On Dragon Island, the banished dragons are now trying to adjust to their former lives without their riders. This has been proven difficult for some of the dragons. Hookfang and Barf and Belch were roaring at each other about to attack, when they were interrupted by Toothless, who commanded both dragons to stop. Reluctantly, the Monstrous Nightmare and the Hideous Zippleback walked away. Toothless then went to the rock which contain his saddle and his mates’ saddle and looked at them sadly. A familiar roar caused the male Night Fury to look up and see his mate flying towards him.

 _‘Any sign of them?’_ Toothless asked his mate.

 _‘No. Not even one. Their scents seemed to be a few months old._ Midnight warbled sadly. They were talking about their hatchlings Darkrie, Nightshade, Starlight, Blaze and Shadow. After the adult Night Furies watched their riders leave Dragon Island the first thing they did was look for their hatchlings, hoping to be cheered up in light of the new banishment. Unfortunately for the two Night Furies, the five child dragons were nowhere to be seen and that made the parents even more depressed.

Midnight gave another sad warble and laid her head to the ground near her riders’ saddle. _‘First we lose our humans then we lose our children. I don’t know how much more I can take.’_

Toothless hated to see his mate like this and nuzzled her neck in an attempt to comfort her. _‘Hey, come on now. We didn’t lose anyone. You heard Hiccup and Hicca. They promised they will be back for us and they’re both too stubborn to quit. We will be reunited soon. And as for our children, they were talking about how much they wanted to fly all over the world. They probably went to do just that. I’m sure wherever they are they are alright and together.’_

Midnight raised her head and gave her mate and gummy smile. _‘I hope you’re right.’_

The two Night Furies then went looked out to the ocean, wondering what their riders were doing at the moment.

**_Mildew has made the entire village believe that dragons are too wild, that we all can't live together in peace. He's wrong, and Hicca and I are going to prove it._ **

In Berk, Hiccup and Hicca were at a beach looking towards the ocean with longing. The sound off their cousin complaining broke them out of their thoughts.

“Arrrrrrgggh! We've been here for hours and we haven't found anything!” Snotlout complained. As soon as they discovered that Mildew was behind the banishment, the Haddock twins quickly gathered all the teens and brought them to the beach, in hopes of retrieving the evidences that have been thrown in the ocean.

Hicca rolled her eyes while Hiccup corrected their cousin. “We've only been here for ten minutes! And you didn’t even do any searching. All you did was built _that_!” He gestured to a pile of stones and sticks that have stacked up by Snotlout.

“What in the world is that suppose to be?” Hicca asked.

“ _That_ is Snotlout Manor.” Snotlout answered, gesturing to his work. He then turned to Astrid “And all I need now is a queen for the brave and handsome king.”

“Ugh.” Astrid rolled her eyes.

“Aaaarrrrrrrgggh!” Suddenly Tuffnut jumped on top of Snotlout Manor and started destroying it while his sister cheered him on.

“What-What are you doing?!” Snotlout asked the male Thorston.

“Storming the castle.” Tuffnut simply answered.

Hiccup tried to get the others back on the task at hand “Come on, guys! I'm telling you, Mildew framed our dragons! I found the dragon feet in Mildew's house and Hicca and I watched him throw them into the ocean.”

Raeda then walked up to him and Hicca. “You know, the more time we’re spending here the more I’m starting to favour Hiccas’ plan.”

Hicca beamed while Hiccup gave the Henderson girl a disapproving look. “We are not murdering Mildew!”

“Come on bro, I know how to make a poison that’s untraceable. We can slip it in Mildews food and people will think he died of old age and we can also forge a note from him giving his confession on framing the dragons and the dragons will come back to Berk! No one will suspect us!” Hicca argued.

“Sis, we are not murderers. We will get the dragons back without having to kill anyone. We just need to find the evidence and prove that they were Mildews’.” Hiccup said.

Fishlegs voiced in his thoughts “I don't mean to be Norbert the Negative, but the ocean is really, really vast. And our chances at finding those dragon feet are as equal as the chances of Snotlout and Astrid--”

“Don't go there.” Astrid threatened, daring the boy to finish his sentence.

“Going nowhere.” Fishlegs said meekly, shrinking away from the tough shield maiden.

Astrid then walked up to Hiccup “Look, Fishlegs is right. Even if Mildew did throw them in the ocean, they're not just gonna wash up on shore here. They’re probably drifting far away from Berk by now.”

“I found it!” Snotlout suddenly shouted.

“Really?” Hicca asked surprised.

“GREAT!” Hiccup exclaimed “Ehm... You were saying?” He asked Astrid before running towards Snotlout and the evidence. Or what he thought was the evidence.

“I haven't seen since I was a baby.” Snotlout said happily as he held up a small bludgeon. “You never forget your first bludgeon.”

“Should have known.” Raeda said, rolling her eyes.

Hicca turned to her brother who sighed. “Now about that poison--”

“No!” He said, cutting her off. He then turned to the others “Just keep looking.”

Meanwhile at the forge, Gobber and Stoick were in the forge with the former crafting weapons to replace the ones destroyed in the armoury. He had just finished hammering a sword. “There you go. One axe down and only 345 more weapons to go.”

Stoick sighed “Can't build the weapons faster? Until you restock our weapons, we're completely defenceless.”’

“Maybe you should have thought about that before sending the dragons away.” Gobber said.

“You know I had no choice. They destroyed the armoury.” The chief pointed out.

“Still would have helped defending Berk. This would be a bad time to get attacked.”

“I know, Gobber.”

“Not that there's ever a good time, but this would be particularly bad. Cause not only do we not have weapons, but we also don’t have dragons.”

“I know, Gobber.”

“And it would be a really bad time to be invaded by Alvin. The Treacherous. Our oldest and most-feared enemy, who'd kill us all to take Berk for his own.”

“You made your point, Gobber!” Stoick said firmly. He then scowled as he remembered his old enemy “Alvin the Treacherous...”

Far away from Berk was an island, known as Outcast Island. This is a place for all the people who have been banished from their islands as punishment for their crimes. Currently it was being raided by a group of rogue dragons.

“Alvin, they're coming back!” One of the soldiers shouted.

A man, the same size of Stoick, looked up at the dragons murderously. He then went to a nearby catapult that was upturned.

“Out of me way! You can't find good marauders anywhere these days. ” Alvin shouted, shoving a nearby outcast away. He used his whole strength to get the catapult standing again and then used it to fire at a Deadly Nadder.

“Alvin, there are too many of them! We need to retreat!” Savage, Alvins’ right hand man, said, approaching the chief of the Outcasts.

Alvin gave one last glare to the dragons and then reluctantly went to the Great Hall of the island. He got inside just as a Monstrous Nightmare blasted the door.

“Oh, I've had it with these dragons! Is the ship ready?” Alvin asked moving to the centre of the Great Hall.

“We still have a little more work to do.” Savage answered.

“That's not my problem, is it?” Alvin asked glaring at Savage who shrunk back a bit. He then turned to a map on the stone table “We sail for Berk immediately. We'll land here and under the cover of night.”

“Why aren't we taking the whole army?” Savage asked.

“We're not there to fight Stoick. We're there for two men: The Dragon Conquerors.” Alvin answered.

“Oh, and you'll have them. We hear they’re both ten feet tall each with the strength of a dozen men.” Savage said.

“Well, they shouldn't be too hard to find then, should they?”

Little did they know who the ‘Dragon Conquerors’ actually were.

“We’re telling you! Hicca and I saw a pair of Zippleback feet in Mildew's house. He must have used them to make the footprints of the dragon who supposedly stole the boots.” Hiccup said. He and the rest of the gang had no luck finding the evidence they needed so Hiccup and Hicca decided to go to their dad and hope that what they saw would be good enough.

“And he also used the Monstrous Nightmare claw to make it look like a dragon destroyed the Great Hall.” Hicca added.

“Well, then let's go have a look at them.” Stoick said getting up.

“Yeah. Umm...one slight problem there; we also saw him throw them into the ocean...” Hiccup said rubbing his arm.

“And we weren’t able to retrieve it so far.” Hicca said.

Stoick sighed “I know you both are upset about the dragons, kids, but you're gonna need evidence to accuse a man of high treason.”

It was clear that their fathers’ decision was final so both the twins went outside near the edge of Berk where they were joined by Astrid.

Hiccup turned to the two girls “Hicca, Astrid, we'll prove Mildew did it. We have to if we ever want to see our dragons again.”

“It’s easier said than done without the evidence.” Hicca said, staring out into the ocean.

“I just hope the dragons are okay.” Astrid said.

“Me too.” Hicca said, turning to the blonde girl.

Something from the ocean caught Astrids’ eyes as she walked towards the cliff. “Why would one of our ships be anchoring there?” She asked, pointing to a ship near the sea-stack.

Hicca squint her eyes. “It doesn’t look like one of our ships.”

Hiccup took out his pocket telescope to get a better view. His eyes widened when he recognised the ship. “It's not one of our ships.”

He gave the telescope to his sister and as soon as she saw the ship, her eyes widened as well. “Outcasts.” She muttered.

“We’ve gotta tell Dad. Come on!” With that, three of them immediately went to look for the chief to warn him of the upcoming invasion of Berk.

At night, the Outcast ship has reached the shores of Berk and Alvin, Savage and the rest of the Outcasts stepped out of the ship.

“Ah, it's good to be back on the shores of Berk.” Alvin commented with a smirk.

“Good for you. Not so good for them.” Savage said, coming up to his chief.

“Let's find these Dragon Conquerors!”

In the Great Hall, the entire village was there to discuss the situation. It was made more difficult without weapons or dragons to defend themselves. Everyone started panicking.

“This is no time to panic! That's what the Outcasts are counting on!” Stoick said.

“Stoick!” Sven, one of the warriors said, running up to the chief.

“Sven, did you get a count?” The chief of Berk asked.

“I saw thirty men at least, all armed to the teeth.” Sven reported.

“Without my weapons, we'll never be able to fight them head on.” Gobber pointed out.

“No weapons! And Outcasts on our shores! All thanks to your children and their dragons!” Mildew said dramatically, gesturing to the Haddock twins who were glaring at him.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Mildew, this isn’t the right time.” Stoick said firmly. He then turned to Mulch “Mulch! You and Bucket gather the elders and the children. Get them to Thor's beach. They'll be safe in the caves there.”

Astrid did not like this idea “We can help fight! We've been trained as warriors.”

Snotlout came up behind her “She may have been trained, but I was born a warrior.”

Stoick held up a hatchet. “Take this. It belonged to Alvin.” Snotlout held up his hands, expecting the chief to give him the weapon. He was disappointed, however, when he saw that Astrid got the weapon instead “But go with the others. You can help protect them.”

Astrid nodded and she, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut headed out with the other villagers.

Hiccup and Hicca then approached their dad “Let me and Hicca go get the dragons. At least if we have them, Dad, we can defend ourselves.” Hiccup said.

“They’re the only defence we have now.” Hicca pleaded.

Knowing that there was no other choice, Stoick reluctantly agreed to this “Go.”

Just as Hicca and Hiccup turned to leave, a voice stopped them. “I’m coming with you.” Raeda, who didn’t go with the others, said as she walked up to the twins. “You guys are going to need some kind of defence if you run into the outcast.” She held up her bow and an arrow, ready to be used.

The twins agreed and the three of them were at the doors of the Great Hall when the chief spoke up. “The three of you be careful. You guys don't know what Alvin is capable of.” Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda nodded and left the Great Hall. Stoick then turned to the remaining warriors “The rest of you follow me to the woods. Nobody knows that forest like we do.”

“And when Alvin comes to looking for us there, he'll greet our traps with open arms!” Gobber said as the warriors head out to the forest.

At the edge of the cliff was Fishlegs. Having not attended the meeting, the Ingerman boy had no idea what was going on. “Oh, Meatlug, I miss you.” He said with sorrow. He then decided to compose a poem, unaware of a figure approaching him from behind “The moon is full, my heart is empty. What rhymes with empty?”

The figure behind him then spoke up “Don't waste your time. Nothing rhymes with ‘empty’.” Slowly and fearfully, Fishlegs turned around and saw Alvin the Treacherous right behind him! The chief of the Outcasts then grabbed Fishlegs by his tunic and held him up “Who're the Dragon Conquerors?” He demanded.

Hyperventilating, Fishlegs did the only thing he could think of at the moment. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Irritated, Alvin simply threw Fishlegs off the cliff and into the ocean.

Meanwhile, Hicca, Raeda and Hiccup were near the docks planning on getting a boat to go to Dragon Island when they spotted two Outcasts coming towards the docks in a boat. Raeda got her bow and arrow ready. “Two Outcasts spotted; reasonable range, clear area equals easy targets. I’ll take them down and then we can use their boat to get to Dragon Island.”

She was about to fire when Hiccup stopped her. He pointed to a group of Outcasts heading in their direction. The three of them immediately ran off to avoid being spotted by the Outcasts. They ran into the plaza when they saw more Outcasts heading in their direction. It seemed that the three of them were going to get captured by the Outcasts, until Hicca spotted a nearby cart. “There!” She whispered pointing at the cart. Understanding what she meant, Hiccup and Raeda followed her and they ducked under the cart, just in time as the Outcasts walked by the cart.

The three teens gave a sigh of relief but stiffened when they heard something, or rather someone, behind them. This gave the three of them a jolt, with Hicca bumping her head on the wheelbarrow, until they saw who it was.

“Fishlegs!” Hiccup whispered.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Raeda hissed.

Fishlegs stopped shaking and spoke in a low voice “Alvin's looking for you two.” He said, pointing to Hiccup and Hicca “He's looking for the Dragon Conquerors.” Raeda, Hiccup and Hiccas’ eyes widened at this new revelation.

Alvin and Savage, along with a few Outcasts, walked up to the Haddock household as Alvin inspected a destroyed sword. “Doesn’t look like Stoick is armed as we thought.”

“From the looks of the armory, he's not armed at all.” Savage said.

They reached the door “Hmm... Do you think I should knock? I mean, what's the proper way to treat these situations?” Alvin asked his right hand man rhetorically. He then settled for a kick. “I think that seems about right. Stoick! Show your face!” Seeing that the house was empty, Alvin turned away. “The old coward's turned and run.” He muttered.

One of his men then came up to him to report his findings. “I spotted fresh tracks leading into the forest. And I heard reports of a big guy with a bucket on his head heading down to the beach.”

“Ehh, we'll split up. You four, go into the woods.” Alvin ordered, pointing to four of his men.

“Where are we going?” Another Outcast asked.

“We'll go to the beach! How many hostages do you think the Dragon Conquerors are worth?”

“Seven! No! Eight!”

Unbeknownst to any of them, four figures were eavesdropping on them.

“Oh, no.” Raeda said.

“This is bad.” Hicca commented.

“What do we do now?” Fishlegs asked.

The wheels in Hiccups’ mind turned as he came up with a plan “Fishlegs, Raeda, you two go to the woods and warn our father. Hicca and I need to get ahead of Alvin and warn Mulch and the others.”

Hicca, Raeda and Fishlegs nodded in agreement and the four of them split up. “Be careful.” Raeda said to the twins before she and Fishlegs ran towards the forest.

Hiccup turned to his sister. “Come on, sis. And stay close!” Hicca nodded and the two left to the beach.

In the forest Stoick, Gobber and the other warriors were devising a plan.

“When they come looking for us in the forest, they'll have to come through here.” Gobber explained.

“Alright. What do we have?”

“Two frying pans, a rolling pin, and a kitchen knife.” Gobber listed.

Stoick wasn’t impressed by that “And what are we going to do when we find Alvin? Bake him a cake?!”

“Eh, I would prefer pie. Who doesn't like pie?” Gobber said casually as he picked up a knife. He then threw the knife at a nearby tree and the tree ended up getting split in half! “That could be useful!”

Mulch was leading the other villagers to the beach “Hurry now! The cave is just up ahead.” The farmer/fisherman then noticed someone missing. “Where's Bucket?”

He started getting worried and looked around for his friend until a little girl walked up to him. “He went back to get my Lamby.” She said.

Mulch sighed “Oh, for the love of....” He then went back to look for Bucket “Why am I always looking for Bucket? Hey, yeah, why can't he-- Bucket? It's like trying to keep track of a half-wit pig.” He finally found his friend carrying a stuffed lamb over his shoulder. “Ugh, Bucket! You had one job: Bring up the rear.”

“But the little girl! You should've seen the look on her face, big blue eyes with the tears welling up.” Bucket said.

Mulch couldn’t help but sigh “Ugh, oh... your bucket's hard, but your heart is soft. Come on, come on.” The two of them went back to join the others when they were suddenly held at spear-point! “Uh-oh...” “You made it easy for us, Bucket. It's hard to miss a half-wit and his lamb.” Alvin said smugly. He and his men then force Mulch and Bucket to take them to the others. None of them were aware that they were being watched by two auburn twins.

Meanwhile, in the forest, the four Outcasts were chasing a certain blonde blacksmith.

“There he is! Get him!”

“Oh, you lousy Outcasts! You'll never take me alive!” Gobber yelled as he kept running.

“Come on, get him!”

The blacksmith then reached a dead-end. He turned to face the Outcasts. “Ugh. You win, boys.” He said putting his hand and prosthetic up in surrender.

“Come on, get him!” The Outcasts were getting ready to capture him when suddenly Stoick and the other warriors came out from hiding and attacked the Outcasts! Their element of surprise gave them the advantage as they manage to subdue all four Outcasts.

“And the tables have turned.” Gobber said in triumph of their successful plan. A noise from the distance put the adults back on alert.

“That way. Over there.” Stoick commanded. They then split up. Stoick ran on the gorge and saw a figure running through the bushes. He ran through the gorge to catch up to the figure. He then jumped across and tackled the person to the ground. Just as he was about to deliver a punch, a feminine voice called out from behind.

“Chief, no! That’s Fishlegs!”

The made Stoick pause and see that the person was in fact Fishlegs!

“Stoick! No!” Fishlegs pleaded, not wanting to take a punch from his chief.

The chief glared at the boy “For the love of Thor, Fishlegs, I could have killed you!”

“Thank you... for not killing me.” Fishlegs said meekly.

Stoick then turned to the young Henderson girl who was walking towards them. “Raeda, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be with Hicca and Hiccup.”

“I know chief and I was. But then we ran into Fishlegs.” Raeda answered.

“Alvin the Treacherous grabbed me. He looked really treacherous.” Fishlegs explained.

“I know they're here, Fishlegs.” Stoick said.

“Yeah. They're here for Hiccup and Hicca.” Fishlegs said.

“Hiccup? Hicca?” Stoick said as he started worrying for his children.

“Alvin knows where Mulch and the others are. He’s planning on using them as hostages to capture Hicca and Hiccup.” Raeda informed the chief.

That alone told the chief what he needed to do. He went, with the two teens in tow, to gather Gobber and the other adults. He intends to get to Alvin before that barbarian lays a finger on either one of his children.

At the beach, Alvin and his men have found and captured the other villagers. Surrounded by armed Outcasts the villagers, including Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, could do nothing but glare at Alvin as he addressed the crowd. “For those of you who haven't figured it out...I am the one and only Alvin the Treacherous. And let me be clear, that name was earned.”

“’Alvin’? Pft... How did he earn that?” Tuffnut joked as his sister snickered.

Alvin paid no attention to the blonde twins and continued “Your leader has abandoned ya. But Stoick doesn't concern me. I'm not here for him. I want the Dragon Conquerors.”

Seeing his opportunity to get rid of the auburn haired, dragon-loving twins, Mildew whispered to Astrid “Say goodbye to Hiccup and Hicca.” He then raised his hand to get Alvins’ attention. “Alvin!”

Before he could say anything though, Astrid elbowed him in the face knocking him out cold. This caught Alvins’ attention. “My grandfather's frail. He needs his nap.” Astrid lied.

Alvin bought the deception and turned away from her, allowing Astrid to drop Mildew to the ground. “Well, like I said...tell me who the Dragon Conquerors are and you can all go free.”

“The Conquerors?” Snotlout scoffed “Come on! I'll show Alvin who's a conqueror.” With encouragement from the Thorston twins, the Jorgenson brought out his bludgeon and snuck up to Alvin, prepared to strike him. He froze, however, when the chief of the Outcasts saw him and glared at him, daring him to attack. “For you, sir.” Snotlout said meekly, handing over his bludgeon. This caused Tuffnut to give him a disapproving look while Ruffnut face-palmed.

Alvin took the bludgeon “Well, you'd better check your trousers, son. I think you've soiled yourself.” He said, shoving the boy aside. Seeing Alvins’ back turned, Astrid took the opportunity and threw her hatchet at him. But as impressive as her throw was, it was futile as Alvin caught it with no problem. “Will you look at that? My old hatchet. I was wondering when I'd get that back.” He then turned to the tough Hofferson girl who was pushed in front of him by one of his men. “Trying to kill Alvin the Treacherous? Ooh hoo! You're not as smart as you look.” Alvin said as he walked around Astrid. “Tell me, who's your Dragon Conqueror, eh?” When he saw that Astrid wasn’t going to answer him, he decided to pull her braid tail, causing the girl to yelp in pain. “Tell me!”

“Leave her alone!”

That got Alvins’ attention as he let go of Astrids’ braid tail and looked towards the source. He found both Hiccup and Hicca coming out of there hiding places to confront him with determined expressions, with Hiccups’ mixed with a bit of rage.

“Hiccup! Hicca! What are you two doing?” Astrid asked, worried for the two.

“Looking for us, Alvin?” Hicca asked, glaring at the Outcasts chief.

“We’re the Dragon Conquerors.” Hiccup said firmly.

That statement caused Alvin, Savage and the other Outcasts to laugh. “You two? Stoicks’ little embarrassments?” Alvin chuckled.

This did not deter either of the Haddock twins “We drove the dragons from Berk. Look around. You don't see any on this island, do you?” Hiccup asked, gesturing.

“We did that by ourselves.” Hicca said.

While Alvin was looking at the skies for any sign of a dragon, Astrid gave a look to Hicca and Hiccup that was asking them what they were doing. The two of them gave her a look that said to play along and Astrid did just that. “I-It's true! All the dragons are afraid of them. They even conquered a Night Fury!

Alvin still seemed unconvinced “You're both bluffing.” He said approaching the Haddock twins.

“You think so? Well, there's only one way to find out. Take us to Dragon Island.” Hiccup said, looking Alvin in the eyes.

“Once you see us conquering a dragon, you’ll know we’re not bluffing.” Hicca said with the same determination as her brother.

Looking at the twins in front of him, Alvin decided to go along with their idea. He took Savage and a few of his men with him, leaving the rest to guard the captured Berkians.

With no weapons at all, the villagers had no choice but to sit around and hope that Hiccup and Hicca have a plan. All of a sudden one of the Outcasts was attacked from behind by none other than Stoick himself! This gave the other warriors the cue to attack and soon they were able to subdue the Outcasts.

Stoick pounced on one of the Outcasts and pinned him to the ground. “Where's Alvin?!” He demanded.

Instead of answering, the Outcast defiantly spit on Stoick. The chief of Berk then grabbed that guy by his tunic until Astrid interjected.

“Alvin took Hiccup and Hicca.”

The Berkian chief froze with shocked with the words he was hoping he wouldn’t hear. “What?!”

“They gave themselves up. They're on their way to Dragon Island.” Astrid explained.

Stoick glared towards the ocean. This has just become personal.

On the Outcast ship, the Haddock twins were held behind two Outcasts with swords with Hiccup standing in front of his sister, not trusting any of these Outcast men.

“I'm sure you're fathers’ told you two plenty about your island's most feared enemy.” Alvin said coming up to the twins.

“Wh-who's that?” Hiccup said feigning ignorance “Oh, right, uh, you. No. Not so much.”

Alvin was surprised at that “Really? Not a word?”

“Nope, not really.” Hicca said casually, understanding what her brother was doing.

“Nothing?”

“Uh-uh.” Hiccup said checking his fingers.

“Nothing about Alvin?”

“Nope.” The twins said in unison.

That got Alvin irritated. Hiccup then spoke up. “Look, 'Al', all Hicca and I care about is that if we do what we say, you will leave the people of Berk in peace.”

“No invasions, no kidnapping.” Hicca added.

“On me word, kids!” Alvin said.

Unbeknownst to the chief of the Outcast was that a Berkian ship was trailing them “When we get there, we'll lay down cover fire with these catapults. Astrid, Raeda you get your dragons.” Stoick ordered.

“No!” Snotlout said, putting his arm up “Save your cover fire for the others, sir. I can handle myself.” While he said that, he leaned into the lever of the catapult causing it to launch a boulder placed by the Thorston twins into the sea.

Gobber rolled his eyes “I'll fire extra rounds to cover that one.”

Ruffnut and Tuffnut then stepped up to the chief “Sir, we'd like to personally volunteer to kick Alvin's butt.” Tuffnut offered, punching his right fist to his left palm while his sister gave a menacing look.

“I’ll beat you guys to it.” Raeda said, holding her bow up.

Stoick, however, shook his head “This isn't about Alvin. It's about Hiccup and Hicca. We're here to bring them home.” He said. ‘Although I will definitely be reminding Alvin not to take either of my children again.’

On Dragon Island, Hicca and Hiccup walked across the land, both were held at sword-point.

“Hey, is the sword really necessary?” Hiccup asked after Alvin pushed him with the sword.

“We’re not even armed here.” Hicca pointed out.

Two black figures emerging from the rocks caught everyones’ eyes. “Odin's Ghost!” Alvin muttered. “Are those...?”

“Night Furies! The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself!” Hiccup answered, trying to contain his smile.

“The most feared and dangerous dragon known to man.” Hicca said, secretly wanting to go over to Midnight.

On instinct, the Outcasts raised their weapons at the two dragons.

“Ah, stop!” Hiccup said, holding out his arms. He then corrected himself. “...It will only make them angrier! Stand back and watch and learn.”

“We’ll handle this.” Hicca said following her brothers’ lead.

“By all means, proceed.” Alvin said. He then turned to his men “I hope you're not squeamish. You're about to see two dragons eat a boy and a girl.”

As soon as Hiccup and Hicca got close the two dragons pounced on the twins, causing some of the Outcasts to panic. What they didn’t know was that Toothless and Midnight were actually giving their riders a few licks.

_‘Hicca! I am so glad to see you again!’_

_‘I knew you’d come back, Hiccup!’_

“Hey Midnight. Good to see you two.” Hicca whispered to her dragon.

“I missed you, too...w-we'll catch up later. Right now you guys need to follow our lead.” Hiccup whispered as he and his sister got up. They then nodded at each other as they continued the facade.

“Is that the best you’ve got? That’s pathetic!” Hicca said out loud.

“That is right! You cannot defeat us! You dirty dragons!” Hiccup shouted. The two of them moved closer to where their saddles were. Then using Toothless and Midnights’ wings for cover, they strapped their saddles on to their dragons. “We are the Dragon Conquerors!”

Alvin started to get a bit suspicious “Hey, what are you two doing with those dragons?!”

However, he was too late as Hicca and Hiccup got on their dragons and were now ready to face off against him.

“A word of advice Alvin; get your information right.” Hicca said as she and Midnight turned around.

Hiccup and Toothless also turned around “Hicca is right, cause it's not really ‘Dragon Conqueror’, it's "Dragon Trainer"! Now!” With that the four of them flew up above Alvin and the other Outcasts.

Alvin could not believe what he was seeing “Great thunder of Thor! They _are_ the Dragon Conquerors! Fire!” At that command, the Outcast readied their crossbows and fired at the dragons

“Incoming!” Hicca shouted as the four of them tried to dodge the arrows.

“Look out! Whoa! Whoa! Hey!” Hiccup shouted.

“What are you waiting for?! Shoot them down!”Alvin ordered his men. The Outcasts then used their catapults to launch boulders at the dragons and their riders. They seem to have some success as Toothless and Midnight were both struggling to avoid both the incoming boulders and arrows.

“There they are! Now we've got them!”

“Fire!”

Three arrows were about to hit Toothless and Midnight, when a fire blast intercepted its’ path.

Hiccup looked at the source of the fire and smiled “Oh, what took you so long?”

“Why, did you two miss me?” Astrid asked as she and Stormfly flew towards the twins.

“Perfect timing!” Hicca said.

“What, you didn’t expect us to miss out on all the fun, did you?” Raeda asked as she and Sparkfire joined the group.

“Hiccup! Hicca!” Fishlegs shouted, alerting the twins of the oncoming boulders.

“We've gotta get in closer!” Hiccup said.

The Berkian then came near the Outcast ship. “Aim for their catapults! If we knock them out, the dragons can finish off the ship! Fire!” Stoick commanded as Gobber and the others fired at the enemy.

Alvin and his men quickly got back on the boat “Move offshore!”

“Here's our chance! Come on!” Hiccup said to the other dragon riders.

“Let’s blast their ship!” Hicca said.

Alvin was getting frustrated by their lack of success “Oh, shoot that dragon down! Fire!” The Outcasts raised their crossbows and this time aimed for Astrid and Stormfly who were flying by! Astrid turned and saw the arrows flying towards them. On instinct, Stormfly did a barrel roll to avoid the arrows. But since Astrid wasn’t ready, she fell off her dragon, hit the mast and landed in a crate on the Outcasts ship!

“Oh, no!” Hicca cried

“ASTRID!” Hiccup yelled as he guided Toothless to try to get Astrid from the ship.

“HICCUP!” Astrid yelled back as she got out of the crate. She ran to the side of the ship waved her arms around. But she was stopped as Alvin grabbed her by her arm!

“Welcome aboard, Astrid.” Alvin sneered. He kept Astrid close and turned to the Outcasts. “Don't miss this time!”

Hiccup and Toothless tried to get Astrid out of there, but their plan was thwarted by the oncoming arrows. “Look out!” They then flew towards the other dragon riders and their dragons.

“Hold your fire! He's got Astrid!” Hiccup commanded.

“What do we do now?” Raeda asked, worried about Astrid.

Before Hiccup could answer that, Snotlout gave Hookfang the command to fire near the Outcast ship!

“What are you doing?!” Hiccup asked incredulously.

 _‘I’m just doing what Snotlout told me to do.’_ Hookfang replied.

“I heard you say ‘fire’!” Snotlout explained.

“I said ‘ _Hold_ your fire’!” Hiccup said.

Snotlout didn’t seem to get it “See?! You said it again!”

 _‘That sounds different...’_ Hookfang thought.

“Snotlout! That’s two different things.” Hicca said exasperated.

_‘I knew it!’_

“No, he's right!” Stoick yelled from the Berkian ship.

_‘Wait, what?’_

“Thank you!” Snotlout said to his chief.

“Fire again, Hiccup and Hicca! All of you!”

The Haddock twins couldn’t understand what their father was asking them until Hicca saw the water where Hookfang fired. “Hiccup, the smoke!”

Hiccup then understood “Everyone! Fire into the water!” He ordered.

The seven teens then flew across the Outcast ship and got their dragons to fire into the water, creating a fog around the ship. There was dead silent as no one on the Outcast ship had a clear view on anything anymore.

A sudden movement from the fog made Alvin agitated “Fire!”

“At what?” One of the Outcasts asked.

“Everything!”

The Outcasts did what they were told and fired their arrows. Predictably, none of them were able to hit any hidden target.

“Did you hear that? Oh, what's that?!” One of the Outcasts asked fearfully.

A large figure then came into view. Still holding Astrid, Alvin threw his sword at what he thought was a dragon. But as the figure came closer, it was revealed to be a masthead from the Berkian ship. The Berkian ship then rammed into the Outcast ship, causing everyone onboard to stumble backwards. Seeing her opportunity, Astrid grabbed a nearby rod and hit Alvin in the stomach and in the face and then made her escape.

“Astrid, hop on!” Hiccup said as he and Toothless flew by and took Astrid to rejoin the others in the sky.

Stoick then jumped onto the ship for the confrontation he has been waiting for “You're a coward taking my son and daughter.” He said coldly, before punching his rival in the face.

“I take what I want! You know that, Stoick!” Alvin retorted getting up. The two then engaged in a combat.

“Not this time.”

Stoick threw another punch, but this time Alvin caught it. Alvin then kneed Stoick in the chest causing the latter to fall. Alvin followed up with a punch, but Stoick managed to duck and retaliate with two punches, one to the stomach and another to the head. This caused Alvin to fall backwards. The chief of Berk was about to head back to his own ship when he noticed that the chief of the Outcasts grabbed onto an anchor with a rope tied on it. Alvin swung the anchor at Stoick, who barely managed to avoid it. At the second swing, Stoick ducked and the anchor hit the ships’ masthead. Stoick got up and placed his foot on the rope tied on to the anchor. This allowed Alvin to pull the rope and trip up the Berkian chief. He then continued swinging the anchor at Stoick and Stoick kept dodging each swing until the last swing caused the anchor to get stuck at the same masthead it damaged earlier. Stoick took advantage of this and tied the rope around Alvins’ hand. After delivering one final punch to the treacherous man, Stoick watched as the masthead broke and fell into the ocean, taking Alvin with it.

Stoick then pushed the Berkian ship away and jumped back on. “NOW, HICCUP AND HICCA! BURN THE SHIP!”

“That’s our cue.” Hicca said.

“Here we go guys! HIT 'EM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!” Hiccup hollered.

All the teens got their dragons to fire away at the ship, causing it to catch on fire. The Outcasts, who were still onboard, immediately jumped off the ship and into the ocean.

The Berkians won.

From their ship, Stoick watched as his children landed on deck with their dragons.

“Hicca, Hiccup, what were you two thinking?”

His children exchanged a glance before Hiccup answered “We were thinking... all we needed to do was to get to Toothless and Midnight. And together, we'd be able to make things right.”

“And we did.” Hicca added with a smile. The three humans and two dragons then turned to the burning ship as they watched it sank.

Happy with the reunion with their dragons and the victory over the Outcast, the dragon riders cheered as they headed home, none of them knowing that a certain Outcast chief, who swam back on to Dragon Island, was glaring at them.

It looked like he was enraged over their defeat, but to the surprise of the Outcast, their chief started laughing.

“They ride dragons!” Alvin said “We get that boy and that girl, and _we'll_ ride dragons!” Understanding now, the Outcasts started to laugh along with their chief. This was just the beginning...

Back on Berk, the dragons and their riders flew over the village with everyone cheering for them.

“You hear that, bud? You're back home.” Hiccup said to Toothless.

“I believe order has been restored.” Hicca said happily. But the two Night Furies, however, still looked a little downcast.

Their riders have noticed “Hey, what’s wrong? Are you guys still worried about your kids?” Hiccup asked, he and his sister found out that Shadow, Nightshade, Starlight, Blaze and Darkrie were gone from Dragon Island. The two adult Night Furies nodded their heads. “I’m sure they’re off having their own adventures. Who knows, they might come back soon, maybe even tomorrow!”

“I’m sure their fine. They are Night Furies after all, right guys?” Midnight and Toothless cheered up at that. One day they will reunite with their kids, just like they reunited with their humans.

One person, however, wasn’t happy with the dragons return. “What are you cheering about? Don't you remember what these beasts have done?!” Mildew asked the cheering crowd.

Having none of that, Stoick approached Mildew. “I do. They saved our lives.” The chief finished off with a glare, daring Mildew to try and protest. Mildew simply kept silent, offering no protest.

As the chief walked, his children and Raeda decided to have a word with Mildew as well

“And we may not be able to prove what you've done, but we will never forget it.” Hiccup said.

“We will be watching you from now on Mildew.” Hicca said, holding the same glare as her brother.

“Mess with my tapestry again and you will be my next target practice.” Raeda threatened, holding up her bow. The three of them then walked away with their dragons behind them.

**_It's funny how an attack by your greatest enemy can change things overnight. Hicca and I set out to prove that our dragons would never hurt us... what they proved, is that they will always protect us._ **


	8. How To Pick Your Dragon

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 8: How To Pick Your Dragon**

 

**_Here on Berk, we've always done things one way: the Viking Way. Since the dragons came, the Viking Way has become, well, the Hard Way. Unfortunately some people, like my father, still refuse to change._ **

It was a normal day for the Haddock twins, Hiccup and Hicca, as they went on their afternoon flight on their dragons, Toothless and Midnight. The four of them then landed on the docks where they saw their father, Gobber and some other men pulling a damaged ship towards the docks.

“It's that rogue dragon again. That's the second boat destroyed because of him.” Gobber grumbled.

“And another whole catch lost. We could have saved it if we'd gotten there sooner.” Stoick complained.

Seeing their opportunity, the twins stepped forward to bring up an idea that they have been pitching to their father for some time now.

“Well, there is one way you could have gotten there sooner.” Hiccup said.

“And it’s a way better alternate than a ship.” Hicca said

Stoick sighed, knowing exactly what they were going to say “This again.” He muttered.

“If you'd flown there on a dragon you could have been there in five minutes instead of two hours. And you might even have been able to chase that rogue dragon away for good.” Hiccup pointed out.

“That’s right. There’s nothing that sends a message clearer than a fire blast.” His sister said.

“As the chief of Berk, I do things the Viking Way. Not the Dragon Way.” Stoick stated firmly. They may be at peace with the dragons now, but that did not mean that _everything_ should change.

“Well, the Viking way is costing us a lot of fish and almost as many boats.” Hiccup argued.

“And think about it; all those week’s worth of travel to other islands could be reduced to days with a dragon.” Hicca added.

“They’re both right. And if you were on a dragon you could protect this island from a lot of things. Even Alvin.” Gobber pointed out.

“Right! You-You could use a dragon to--” Hiccup started to say, before he was cut off by his father.

“You're right Gobber.” The chief said, turning to the blacksmith. “Alvin knows we have dragons. He'll be back.”

“He’ll might try and strike again when our guards are down.” Hicca said. But that statement was ignored by the two adults. “You saw what those dragons did. They had Alvin on the run. Imagine if you were the one commanding them.” Gobber said.

Stoick contemplated on that “I'm listening.”

“But clearly not to us.” Hiccup muttered. Only his sister heard that as she nodded her head in agreement.

Gobber continued pitching in the idea “I can see it know. A proud chief, ruling his domain above aboard a fearsome fire-breathing reptile. Ooooh, it gives me goosebumps.”

Hiccup tried again to put some word in the conversation “That's what Hicca and I have been trying to--”

Again, he was unsuccessful “Gobber's right.” Stoick declared.

“Let it go, bro. At least he’s on board with our idea.” The Haddock girl said to her brother who sighed in defeat.

“I need to learn to fly.” Stoick said. He finally turned to his children “When do we start the lessons?”

“I don't know, shouldn't we ask Gobber?” Hiccup asked sarcastically.

Gobber shrugged, not getting the sarcasm “Eh, I don't really have a preference, but sooner is always better. Don'tcha think?” Hicca face-palmed at that.

Later on, the twins took their father to the cliffs along with their two Night Furies.

“Alright, Hicca and I have made a new stirrup for the saddle so you'll be able to control Toothless.” Hiccup said. The twins sat down and discussed how they should teach their father how to ride and train dragons. They eventually decided that he should ride Toothless with Hiccup guiding him, because the male Night Fury and his mate were the most willing to allow the chief to ride them and the twins thought that their father would be more interested in bonding with dragons if he worked together with Toothless on flying.

“You hear that? It's _me_ that's supposed to be controlling _you_.” Stoick said to the male Night Fury.

 _‘Hey! Who’s the one doing the actual flying? Me or you?’_ Toothless warbled.

“Whoa, whoa, Dad, uh, before you get on a dragon you've got to show him he can trust you.” Hiccup said.

“He already trusts me. I'm his chief!” Stoick said.

_‘The chief of vikings, not of dragons.’_

“Toothless and Midnight already trust you, but a new dragon won’t have that level of trust at first, dad. You need to learn how to make the connection.” Hicca informed her father.

“Hicca’s right and it's very simple. Just give me your hand.” Hiccup said, holding out his hand.

“I didn't come here to hold hands, Hiccup.” Stoick stated.

Hiccup ignored that and took his fathers’ hand. He then slowly placed it on his dragons’ snout “It's okay, bud.” He said to Toothless. The dragon then pressed his snout to the chiefs’ hand “You feel that?” He asked his father.

“Yeah. Still dry and scaly.” Stoick simply said, not feeling the bond forming.

 _‘You’re dry and scaly.’_ Toothless retorted.

“That's not what I meant.”

Stoick started getting impatient “Can I get on him now?”

“Maybe he will get that bond if he rides on Toothless. Like Gobber says ‘learn on the job.’” Hicca said.

Deciding that his sister is right, Hiccup allowed his father to get on Toothless while he sat behind him. Hicca then went on Midnight.

“Alright, let's get on with this madness.” Stoick said.

“We'll start out nice and slowly.” Hiccup started to instruct “Just give him a little nudge when you wanna--” He didn’t get to finish that sentence as his fathers’ ‘nudge’ was rather a rough kicked at Toothless’ side, causing the dragon to shoot out in the air, out of Midnight and Hiccas’ view.

It took a second for the Haddock girl to register what happened before she looked at her dragon. “I’m starting to rethink this whole idea.” She said to her dragon.

 _‘Me too.’_ Midnight warbled, looking up with a worried expression for her mate. The two of them immediately went to catch up with the other three.

“I SAID _NUDGE!_ ” Hiccup yelled as he, Stoick and Toothless flew around at high speed.

“That _was_ my nudge!” Stoick shouted back defensively.

_‘Liar! That was proper kicked!’_

The three of them continued to fly around at high speed as Stoick struggled to get control of the tailfin.

“Just remember, the tail controls everything.” Hiccup said.

“I know that.” His father replied.

_‘Is anyone gonna to help me turn?!’_

“Then why are you heading for that rock?!”

“Because you're distracting me!”

_‘Hurry up!’_

“Just let out the--”

“TAIL! I KNOW!”

_‘Brace for impact!’_

“Left! LEFT! No, no, the _other_ left!” It was too late as they crashed into a sea stack.

“Dragon's fault.” The chief stated. They then crashed into another sea stack.

_‘Chief’s fault.’_

“You gonna blame that on the dragon too, Dad?” Hiccup asked rhetorically.

“Yep.”

_‘Like father, like son. At least Hiccup apologised instead of blaming. If only I could slap the chief with my ear plate...’_

They then dived down towards the ocean.

“SLOW DOWN!” Hiccup yelled.

“I'm trying!” Luckily for them, Stoick pressed down the stirrup in time, causing Toothless to fly horizontally above the ocean. “See?”

_‘There’s hope for you yet.’_

“Actually, no. No, I had my eyes closed!” Hiccup muttered. The three of them then noticed that they were going to crash on an island.

“You're coming in to hard! Open the tail! With your foot!” Toothless warbled in agreement, not wanting to crash again.

“I'm opening the tail.”

“That's my _leg_ , Dad!”

_‘I spoke too soon!’_

Before Stoick could correct his mistake, the three of them crashed on to the island, all of them dazed and disoriented.

Hiccup, who face-planted to the ground, looked up to his dragon, who was walking dizzily towards him. “I am _so_ sorry.” He whispered so his father couldn’t hear. Toothless accepted the apology and glared at Stoick, not appreciating the ride at all.

_‘Next time let him ride Hookfang.’_

Hiccup then noticed his father getting up and walking away. “Dad, wait. Where are you going?”

“Nah, I'm done with this, Hiccup! I've got a village to look after.” Stoick said firmly. It was pretty clear that after todays’ experience there was nothing Hiccup, Hicca or even Gobber could say to get him back on a dragon. That is, until, the chief stopped at the cliffs and stared upwards. Realizing that there was only one way to get back to his village, Stoick sighed “I'll need a ride home.” He said reluctantly.

A few minutes later, the three of them were up in the air again, with a mutual agreement that Hiccup would be the one steering this time, and made their way back to Berk.

“There you guys are!” A familiar voice called out from the sides. “Midnight and I have been looking all over for you!” Hicca said as she and the female Night Fury flew at the guys’ side. “So how’s the flight? Dad, I thought you were steering Toothless.” She asked innocently, unaware of what happened.

“Don’t ask.” Her father and brother answered in unison and Toothless warbled in agreement. Realizing that the lesson was unsuccessful, Hicca dropped the subject. ‘Maybe we should have had dad fly on Midnight.’

Observing the area around him, Stoick noticed something “This isn't the way home.”

“Just sit back and enjoy the ride! We are taking the scenic route!” Hiccup said.

Understanding what her brother was doing, Hicca went along with it. “It’s the best route there is.”

“Right now my lunch is taking the scenic route into my throat!” Stoick said feeling uneasy. That statement caused Hicca and Midnight to back away slightly.

 _‘Let’s hope it takes the scenic route back to his stomach.’_ Midnight warbled.

 _‘At least I’m not crashing into anything.’_ Toothless said in his dragon language.

“Dad, just think about how much easier your chiefing can be on the back of a dragon.” Hiccup said.

Hicca nodded her head. “It will do you wonders.”

Stoick still wasn’t convinced “Well, I prefer to be down on the--” He stopped the sentence when something below caught his eye “Wait. What's going on over there?” His children and the dragons looked to where the chief was pointing and saw a farm with the yaks lying on their sides. “Some genius has been yak-tipping again.” Stoick said annoyed.

Toothless and Midnight spotted two figures hiding behind a wheelbarrow. _‘The usuals.’_ Rolling their eyes and snorting, the two Night Furies blasted the wheelbarrow to ashes, revealing the culprits.

“Shhh, stay quiet and they might not notice us.” Tuffnut whispered to Ruffnut.

Stoick grew even more annoyed “Make that _geniuses_. I want everyone those yaks back on its feet!” He ordered to the Thorston twins.

“So much for that plan.” Ruffnut grumbled.

“Nice chiefing, Dad! Let's see what else we can get done today!” Hiccup said feeling motivated.

Scouring the grounds from above, Hicca spotted some wild boars eating cabbages from Mildews’ cabbage field. “Down below!” She yelled, showing her father and brother the wild boars.

Hiccup nodded and had Toothless follow Midnight as they swoop down the cabbage field.

“Midnight, fire!”

“You too, Toothless!”

Both dragons followed their riders’ commands and fired plasma blasts at the field, scaring the wild boars into running away.

“Fire again, dragons.” Stoick ordered

“Dad, the boars are gone.” Hiccup said.

“Yeah, there’s no need now.” Hicca pointed out.

“Who cares? I like the sound it makes.” Stoick said happily.

The twins exchanged a happy look. Their plan was working! Now there was just one more thing to do to seal the deal.

“Take us up, bud.” Hiccup said to Toothless before turning to his dad “There's something else I want you to see.”

“Follow them, Midnight.” Hicca said to her dragon.

Both the Night Furies flew up to the clouds, giving the full view of Berk.

“This is why we always go on a flight during the sunset.” Hicca commented as she admired the beauty of the sky at this time of the day.

Stoick marvelled at the sight as well, but for another reason “Whoa. I've spent my entire life on Berk. Climbed its hills, explored its forests, and swam its waters. I've travelled every inch, but I never thought I'd see it like this.”

“It's beautiful, isn't it?” Hiccup commented, thinking their father was talking about the view.

“No, it's more than that Hiccup.” He pointed to their village “Look at them. All of my people. Everyone is safe. It's a good feeling.” There was silence after that as the father, son and daughter continued to admire the view.

The next day, Hiccup got quite a wakeup call as a pair of arms rolled him off his bed. “Oof! Ow! What?! What the-” He looked up and saw who was responsible for that. “Hicca?! Why would you do that?!”

“You need to see this!” Hicca answered as she pulled her brother up. She dragged him outside their house towards Midnight who was looking up at the skies with worry.

“What is so urgent that you would-” Hiccup never finished that sentence as he looked up to where the female Night Fury was looking and got his answer. “DAD?!” The twins saw their father flying up in the air with Toothless! The poor male Night Fury was for once wishing that he wasn’t flying as he wasn’t enjoying the flight at all.

_‘Help! Someone shoot me down! Please!’_

The twins and Midnight weren’t the only ones who saw that.

“Please tell me I’m not the only one who saw that.” Raeda said to Astrid and Fishlegs as the three of them watched their chief riding Toothless.

Astrid shared the same shock and disbelief as the raven haired girl “Was that--?”

“Unexpected? Disturbing?” Fishlegs offered.

“Yep.”

“Uh, Dad, what are you doing?” Hiccup asked as Stoick and Toothless landed in front of the Haddock household.

 _‘Killing me.’_ Toothless complained.

“Kicking butt and taking names, that's what!” Stoick answered with excitement.

“Uh, on Toothless?”

“At least he didn’t take Midnight.” Hicca muttered. Midnight heard her comment and agreed. She definitely didn’t want to be in her mates’ position right now.

“Oh, we've been all over Berk. Chiefing has never been so easy.” Stoick said.

“Yeah, that is great that you’re like riding dragon now, but Dad, uh, Toothless is my dragon.” Hiccup said, trying to get the message across.

Stoick didn’t seem to get the message. “Yes and you picked a good one. Just came in to grab my hatchet. We're helping Jorgensen break down a fence.”

Hiccup tried again “Yeah, that's, that's great, but you need to understand that Toothless is--”

“Oh, you're right. I don't need my hatchet. Toothless can just blow that fence down with a fireball. Ha-ha!” Stoick laughed as he got back on Toothless, much to the male Night Furys’ dismay “Up, dragon.”

_‘The least you could do is call me by my name!’_

Toothless shot a pleading look to his rider “Don't worry, bud. I can fix this.” Hiccup whispered in assurance before the chief took off with Toothless again.

 _‘Hang in there Toothless. This can’t be permanent.’_ Midnight said to her mate.

“So, see ya there, Toothless. I really hope...” Hiccup said with uncertainty.

“Only in Berk, you can wake up to a sight like that.” Hicca commented as she and Midnight watched the two go off, with the latter having a worried expression written all over her face.

This became the longest day ever in Toothless’ life as the poor dragon flew the heavy chief all over the village, performing various tasks. Finally, to the exhausted dragons’ relief, the end of the day came and he got a chance to rest.

“Same time tomorrow, Toothless?” Stoick said to Toothless as they landed in front of the Great Hall.

_‘No!’_

The chief then walked back to his house, oblivious to the groans coming from behind him.

Hiccup, Astrid and Hicca walked up to Toothless as Midnight went to comfort her mate “You see that? That's what it looks like to be ridden all day by a four-hundred-pound man.” Hiccup said, gesturing to Toothless.

“At least you two got your Dad on a dragon.” Astrid pointed out.

“Yeah, now we just need to figure out how to get him _off_ one.” Hiccup said.

“Easier said than done. It was hard enough just to convince dad to ride a dragon.” Hicca said.

“Why don't you just give him the ol' ‘Honey and The Hatchet’?” Astrid suggested. Noticing the twins sharing a confused expression, she continued to explain. “You know, you tell him something he wants to hear, that's the ‘Honey’ part, before you hit him in the head with something he doesn't. You know, ‘The Hatchet’.”

“Why does your advice always involve weapons?” Hiccup asked.

“Cause they wouldn’t be her advice if they weren’t.” Hicca answered.

Hiccup then thought of something. “Wait, Toothless isn’t the only Night Fury around. Hicca, why don’t you let dad borrow Midnight for a while?”

Midnight, who was overhearing this, widened her eyes. Her? Riding the chief all over Berk? After what her mate has been through? Hicca, however, remained calm. “Hiccup, you know I love you as my twin brother and I would be ready to take a hit for you anytime.” She said sweetly.

“The Honey.” Astrid muttered.

“But there is absolutely nothing in the world you can say or do that will make me let dad ride on Midnight for his chiefing. Sorry.”

“And the Hatchet.” Astrid said.

Hiccup sighed. There was only one option left.

The next day at the Haddock household, Stoick was prepared for another day of chiefing. But there was just one thing missing.

“Toothless? Toothless?” Stoick called out. Not finding Toothless and Midnight anywhere, he turned to his children. “Where's Toothless?” Unbeknownst to Stoick, Toothless and Midnight were up on the roof staying hidden. Although Hicca made it clear that she wasn’t going to let her dad ride Midnight, the female Night Fury wasn’t going to take any chances if the chief can’t find her mate.

“Ah, I don't know...” Hiccup lied. He then decided to use Astrids’ advice “But you... Look great, Dad! What is it? Are you, d-did you do something with your beard?”

“ _Your beard?_ ” Hicca incredulously repeated in a whisper. Was that the best compliment her brother could think of?

Stoick sighed, knowing this tactic too well “Alright, you've given me the honey; now just give me the hatchet.”

Hiccup decided to finally get to the point “Look, Dad, you can't just keep taking Toothless. He's mine.”

“Alright. That seems fair.” Stoick admitted, knowing his son is right. He then turned to his daughter. “What if I borrowed Midnight?”

Hicca took a deep breath before answering. “Dad, as my father and my chief, I both love and respect you--”

“So it’s a no?”

“Yes, it’s a no.”

Stoick sighed again “Fine then. You two go and find me one.”

“Uh, sorry?” Hiccup asked as confused as his sister.

“Find me a dragon as good as Toothless and Midnight.” Stoick explained “That shouldn't be so hard for the Heads of the Berk Dragon Training Academy.”

The twins exchanged a look and agreed. It may be a tough task, but at least they can get their dad his own dragon.

Later, they explained the situation to the other dragon riders and gathered them and their father in the Academy to show him the common types of dragons at Berk.

“The finest dragon species on the island. They're all represented at this Academy.” Hiccup explained.

“And who better to explain it than the riders of these fine dragons.” Hicca added.

Snotlout stepped forward and made his sales pitch “The Monstrous Nightmare is the only one with the brawn and prestige for men of our stature. Hop on board.” He said, patting the saddle. The chief complied and got on “Feel the Monstrous Nightmare difference. And on those cold winter nights, its whole body heats up. Just enough to keep you cozy. Lemme warm him up for you.” With that, he flicked Hookfangs’ snout, causing the Monstrous Nightmare to light himself up. Unfortunately, because of that, Stoick caught on fire. The chief immediately jumped off the dragon and jumped in a nearby trough full of water. “Now should I put you down for one? They come in an assortment of colours.” Snotlout said nervously, earning a glare.

Hicca then stepped in. “Okay! How about the Deadly Nadder? Astrid? Raeda?”

Since they both rode the same dragon, Astrid and Raeda decided to do their presentation together. Astrid then stepped forward. “Since she's beautiful, people think she's not tough. But you should never underestimate me.” Astrid then stuttered as she realised what she just said “Uh, her--uh, us.”

“Quick and light on their feet, flame as hot as the sun and spot on spine throwing. Deadly Nadders are as tough as they are beautiful.” Raeda said, saving her blonde partner from embarrassment.

Stoick then walked closer to the two Nadders “Well, they are beauties.” He commented. He then raised his hand to put on Stormflys’ snout.

Knowing what’s going to happen, the two girls try to warn him.

“No, wait!”

“Be careful with the--!”

But they were too late, as the chief placed his hand on Stormflys’ snout, right on her blind spot. Panicking, the blue Nadder, shot spines at her unknown threat, pinning the poor chief to the wall.

“Monstrous Nightmare's looking a little better now, huh, Chief?” Snotlout said, earning another glare from the chief as he unpinned himself from the wall.

“Next!”

The chief then went on to the next dragon; the Hideous Zippleback. Only problem was the two-headed dragon and their riders were too busy fighting each other to give a presentation. That gave Stoick an easy decision. “Next!” He then went to the final dragon; the Gronckle.

Fishlegs then stepped forward with Meatlug “Lemme tell you, what you're really looking for is loyalty. A dragon who will be there for you no matter what. The last face you see at night and the first face you see in the morning. Warming your bed when it's cold outside, a shoulder to cry on when the world has turned its back on you.” Fishlegs started tearing up at that “How could you not love a Gronckle?”

The Haddock twins and their father could only stand and stare at Fishlegs feeling a little weirded out “Sorry, son. But I'm looking for a dragon. Not a mother.” Stoick said. He then turned to his children. “I haven't seen anything that can hold a candle to a Night Fury.”

“Me neither! But Toothless and Midnight are the only Night Furies on Berk. And Toothless’ mine.” Hiccup argued.

“And Midnight is mine.” Hicca said firmly.

Just then, Gobber came running into the Academy “Stoick! Emergency! Another boat is getting attacked! It's the rogue dragon again.” He panted.

“Let's go!” Stoick ordered. He and Hiccup simultaneously put their left feet on their respective stirrups on Toothless’ saddle. Stoick gave a look to his son to make it clear that he was going to be the one steering.

“Oh, right... Silly me, what was I thinking?” Hiccup said, moving behind his father. “At least he blocks the wind...” He said in a low voice.

Looking at her brother sympathetically, Hicca decided to help him out. “Wait, dad. Why don’t you ride with me and Midnight? There will be a less chance of crash-landing that way.”

Stoick considered that. Deciding that his daughter has a point, he nodded and made his way towards them. Both Hiccup and Toothless gave her grateful looks. “You guys owe us later.” She mouthed them, pointing to herself and Midnight.

Soon they were on their way to the fishing boat, which had Mulch and Bucket on board. The poor fishermen were trying their best to shoo away the rouge dragon, but to no avail.

The twins were in awe of the dragon.

Hiccas’ eyes widened “Whoa! Is that....”

“A Thunderdrum! They say it gets its power from Thor himself.” Hiccup said.

Stoick, however, wasn’t impressed “Fire a warning shot. Let him know we mean business.”

“Toothless/Midnight! Plasma blast!” The twins shouted. Their dragons obeyed their riders and simultaneously fired one plasma blast each, causing the blue Thunderdrum to dive into the ocean. Toothless and Midnight then landed on the boat and their passengers jumped off and went towards the two farmers/fishermen.

“I think we scared him off, but we've got to get everyone out of here.” Hiccup informed their dad.

“I like that idea.” Hicca said, casting a glance at the ocean

Stoick then turned to the two men “Come on, lads! We'll escort you back to shore. You'll have no more--” He was unable to finish that sentence, however, as a tail emerged from the ocean, wrapped itself on to the chiefs’ waist and pulled him into the ocean!

“No more what?!” Bucket asked running to the side of the boat.

“Dad!” Hiccup and Hicca shouted in unison as they both looked down to where their father was pulled. A few minutes of silent caused the four people on board to worry more and more.

“Uh, Stoick can swim, right?” Mulch asked nervously. Suddenly the Thunderdrum emerges from the water, with Stoick on its’ snout, much to the twins relief. The wild dragon then slammed the chief on to the side of the boat.

But what shocked the four people watching was their chiefs’ reaction. “Oh, he's a fighter! He's got spunk!” Stoick said cheerfully as he continued to wrestle with the dragon “This is the one, Hiccup and Hicca! I've found my dragon!” He then grabbed a net nearby and tossed it on the dragon “Now all you two have to do is train him for me.”

Hiccup, Hicca, Mulch and Bucket were speechless as they stared at Stoick with a combination of shock and disbelief. Bucket and Mulch even dropped the oars that they were holding on to.

They eventually reached the docks and Stoick immediately muzzled the Thunderdrum and locked him in a cage in the Academy.

 _‘Let me out of here! You don’t understand! I can’t be here!’_ The Thunderdrum roared. Unfortunately for him, the humans could not understand him.

The twins gave the poor dragon a sympathetic look.

“I really don’t want to be that Thunderdrum right now.” Hicca commented.

“Sorry about the muzzle.” Hiccup said to the caged dragon.

Stoick was still excited about getting his new dragon “Alright, let's get me on his back. Times a-wastin'.”

“Now we just got to get one in his size.” Hiccup whispered to the dragon, referring to the muzzle. This caused Hicca to giggle.

“What was that?” Stoick asked.

“Nothing.” The twins said in unison.

Hiccup then spoke up “Look. You have to approach him properly, Dad. Especially a dragon like this. He is one of the most powerful dragons Hicca and I have ever seen.”

That didn’t deter Stoick “That's why I picked him. They say his roar gets its power from Thor himself! He's the God of Thunder, you know.”

“So I've heard.” Hiccup said, while his sister sighed “Still. You have to let the dragon know you're a friend.

“A friend, huh? Oh! Like me and Gobber?” Stoick asked.

“There we go. We’re getting somewhere.” Hicca said.

“Yeah, perfect! What did you do when you two met?” Hiccup asked.

He soon found himself regretting asking that question, as Stoick then held Hiccup in a headlock "That's my wife you're talking to, you one-legged lout!"

“Never do that with this dragon. Ever!” Hicca warned.

Hiccup managed to break free from the headlock “Not exactly the approach Hicca and I had in mind. Dad, what's real important is that you let him know that he can trust you. You have to make eye contact.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Stoick said nonchalantly.

“Stay calm. Be gentle. And you'll know you've formed a bond when he bows his head to let you climb on his back.” Hiccup continued. He then opened the caged and stood back to where his sister is to allow the chief to form a bond with the dragon. Stoick slowly moved his hand towards the Thunderdrums’, only to have the said dragon snap back in defence! Stoick then retaliated with a punch, to his childrens dismay.

“Dad, that is not gentle!”

“What happened to trust?”

“Talk to him! He's the one who tried to take off my hand!” Stoick replied defensively.

_‘You’re the one who muzzled me and kept me in a cage!’_

“Well can you blame him? You tackled, muzzled and caged him! And now you’re punching him!” Hicca argued.

_‘I need to get out of here!’_

The Thunderdrum tried to fly away, but Stoick would have none of that. The chief grabbed the wild dragon from his tail and tried to force himself on the back of the dragon.

“Would you stop it, Dad? This is not how you bond!” Hiccup said.

“Ah! You got to show these beasts who's boss!” Stoick said as he manages to climb on the Thunderdrum. “See, I'm on his back! Any questions?”

However, the Thunderdrum wasn’t willing to give up that easily as his started flying around, trying the chief off his back.

“Oh, too many to ask.” Hiccup said sarcastically as his sister stared at the bickering duo in disbelief.

After the unsuccessful training session with their dad, the Haddock twins went to the forge to talk about their situation to Gobber and Raeda, while the former was working on dragons’ teeth.

“We talk to him, but our dad just doesn't listen! It's like we’re wasting our breath.” Hiccup ranted.

“It would be easier talking to a wall because at least the wall doesn’t shrug off everything we’re saying like it’s nothing.” Hicca said.

Raeda gave her best human friends a sympathetic look. “I got it!” Gobber suddenly shouted.

“Thank you. At least two people understand us...” Hiccup said in relief.

Raeda looked at Gobber “Actually Hiccup, I understand completely but Gobber...”

“I meant this.” Gobber said, holding out a tooth that he just extracted from the Gronckle “Nasty.” He then turned to the three teens. “Now what were you saying?”

“Déjà vu.” Hicca muttered.

“Ugh! Our father!” Hiccup said annoyed.

“They were saying how their dad doesn’t listen to either of them.” Raeda explained.

“Right! Stoick.” Gobber said. “Let me explain something about fathers and children. It's a father's job to listen to his children without ever letting on that he's heard a word.”

“That makes no sense at all!” Hicca said.

“Hicca! Hiccup!” Stoick yelled as he ran up to the forge. The chief was sporting a few bruises.

“Dad, what happened?” Hiccup asked as concerned as his sister.

“Ah, the beast threw me off and flew off to Thor-knows-where.” Stoick explained.

“Well, can you blame him? All you ever did was fight him!” Hiccup pointed out.

“It was inevitable.” Hicca added.

Stoick waved that off “Dah! He loved it!”

“Yeah, apparently not.” Hiccup answered sarcastically.

“Who doesn’t love getting beaten up?” Hicca said with equal sarcasm, while Raeda shook her head in disbelief.

“We can stand here arguing, or we can go get my dragon.” Stoick declared.

They gathered the rest of the dragon riders and flew off to search for the Thunderdrum. This time, Stoick rode on Toothless as Hiccas’ previous generosity was a one-time thing.

“Alright! We have to fan out and cover every part of the island!” Stoick shouted, determined to get his dragon back.

Hiccup started giving orders “Ruffnut and Tuffnut, you take--”

“You take the West side!” Stoick ordered.

“You got it, Chief.” Tuffnut said.

“Can anybody even _see_ me back here?!” Hiccup asked rhetorically. This fell on deaf ears.

“WEST SIDE!” Stoick shouted after the noticing that the Thorston twins were still with them. The blonde twins eventually flew their Zippleback to the West.

“Snotlout, Raeda, to the North side!” Stoick ordered. The two teens complied and flew north.

“Come on, Fishlegs. We'll take the East side.” Astrid said to the Ingerman boy.

“But-but its allergy season.” Fishlegs protested.

“Fishlegs!”

“Not me. It's her.” Fishlegs said, gesturing to Meatlug. Still he complied and went with Astrid to the East side, leaving the Haddock twins and their father to fly to the South side.

“Well, your friends sure are an odd bunch, but they sure know what they're doing on those dragons.” Stoick commented.

“Thank you. I think...” Hiccup said.

“We’ll just take that as a compliment.” Hicca said.

Hiccup decided to try again to get through to their father “Okay, when we find the dragon you might wanna think about approaching him...differently. Obviously he doesn't like being pushed around so--”

“There he is!” Stoick pointed out, clearly not listening to what his son was saying.

“And, once again, not a word goes through...” Hiccup sighed as Hicca rubbed her temples.

They landed at the island where the wild Thunderdrum was and Toothless and Midnight started getting defensive “Settle down, bud.” Hiccup said.

“It’s okay girl.” Hicca said, patting her dragon.

“Let me handle this.” Stoick said, holding up a hammer. Determination filled his eyes. “This dragon's mine.”

“Dad!” Hiccup shouted in panic.

“Dad, you need to take a more gentle approach!” Hicca cried.

As Stoick got closer, he stopped as he noticed something “There's another Thunderdrum in there.” Sure enough, inside the cave where the blue Thunderdrum was, there was also a purple Thunderdrum.

“He's hurt.” Hiccup observed.

A realization came to Stoick “Well, he-he's protecting his friend. That's why he's been taking all those fish.” He then turned to his children “Hiccup, go get the others. Hicca, you get your medical equipment and tell Gobber to get ready. You both have a new patient.”

“Dad, we can't just leave you here!” Hiccup argued.

“Go!” Stoick said firmly. The Haddock twins exchanged a glance and decided to comply.

As they flew off, the chief then approached the blue Thunderdrum “Looks like it's just you and me, big fella.” As he got closer, the dragon gave a warning growl through his muzzle. “I want to help, trust me.” Stoick said calmly. The Thunderdrum, however, was roaring at something behind the chief. Stoick turned around and saw a pack of wild boars heading towards them “Ah, they smell the blood of your wounded friend.” He then held up his hammer and took a defensive stance.

The boars charged at them and the chief charged back, fighting off the boars to keep them away from the wounded dragon. Suddenly, one of the boars pounced on the chief and pinned him to the ground. Luckily for Stoick, the blue Thunderdrum whipped the boar off him with his tail. Stoick then got up and stared into the Thunderdrums eyes, while the Thunderdrum stared back. Both of them forgot about the wild boars for a moment, as the chief slowly moved his hand closer to the dragon. The Thunderdrum finally decided to trust the human and let him touch his snout, forming the bond. Immediately, Stoick tore off the muzzle and in response the dragon bowed to him, allowing the chief to ride him. Stoick got on and give the dragon the signal to fire out its’ famous sonic blast, scaring away the rest of the boars.

“Aww look at us! We're bonded!” Stoick said happily to his new friend.

The chief then looked up and saw the other dragon riders, minus Hicca because she was back on Berk notifying Gobber of the wounded dragon and preparing her medical equipment, flying towards them. They landed and it took Hiccup a second to register what he was seeing; his father on the wild dragon and both were actually getting along. “What. Happened?” He asked.

“Ah, we battled a few boars, did a little bonding.” Stoick explained.

“You?” Hiccup asked in disbelief.

“Of course! There's something you should know about dragons. It's all about trust.” Stoick said.

Hiccup was even more surprised to hear that “So you actually heard that?”

“Yes. I just said it. I listen.”

The dragon riders all work together to carry the injured purple Thunderdrum back to Berk to be treated by Hicca and Gobber.

“Take good care of him. He's a friend.” Stoick said to his daughter and best friend.

“Don’t worry dad, he’s in good hands.” Hicca said with a smile, proud of her father for forming a bond with his own dragon.

**_Our dad still does things the Viking Way._ **

Later on, Hiccup and Hicca made a new saddle for Stoick to use on his Thunderdrum and the chief and dragon were now pulling a ship to the docks.

**_Fortunately, Midnight, Toothless, Hicca and I showed him that the Viking Way can also be the Dragon Way._ **

After getting the ship back to the docks, Stoick went for a flight around Berk with his dragon, accompanied by his children and their dragons. The Haddock family soared high in the sky, enjoying their family flight around Berk.


	9. Portrait of Hiccup and Hicca

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 9: Portrait of Hiccup and Hicca**

 

**_Measuring up to a Viking father isn't easy. Especially when that Viking father is also the Chief of your village. So, when you get a chance to prove yourself, you jump on it._ **

The Great Hall was completely empty except for four people; Stoick, Hiccup, Hicca and Bucket. Bucket was painting a shield portrait of the Haddock family to be hung on the wall. Stoick was holding a sword while Hiccup held a shield. Hicca, on the other hand, didn’t hold any weapon since she didn’t feel it was necessary as a future healer.

“Shoulder's back, chin up, son!” Stoick said to Hiccup, who did as told. “This portrait's gonna hang in this hall forever.”

Bucket seemed to be a bit troubled with the task. He walked towards the Haddock family to brush some dirt off them, but he became increasingly frustrated “No good, no good, no good... I CAN'T DO THIS!” Panicking he ran and hit his bucket covered head to a nearby post. “Okay, I'm good.” He said, now calm.

“I've never seen Bucket like this.” Hiccup whispered.

“Me neither.” Hicca whispered.

“Well, when he lost half his brain he suddenly became... an artist.” Stoick explained as Bucket blew some paint from the palm of his hand to the shield.

“So, Bucket can actually paint?” Hiccup asked dubiously.

“I’m surprised you didn’t ask Raeda to paint our portrait.” Hicca said.

Admittedly, Stoick had considered asking the young Henderson girl to paint their portrait after seeing some of her work, but this was a very special occasion for them and he wanted someone with more experience for it. “Oh, he's the best! He's gonna do us proud, kids. This portrait is gonna take its place along all the other Chiefs and their children.” He then gestured to the very last portrait in the line. “That is the only picture of my father and me. It was a great day.” He looked at his children, who were looking at his portrait. “And so is this!” The three of them then looked in front so that Bucket could continue painting them. “Chest out, son!”

Hiccup tried to do that and failed. “Yeah, this is as out as it goes, Dad.” He said while his sister rolled her eyes.

“Ah. Very well, then.” The chief said.

That night, after dinner, the Viking teens were looking at all the portraits lined up on the wall.

“Look at all these great leaders. And tomorrow, your picture's going to be hanging right next to them!” Astrid said to the Haddock twins.

“There goes the neighbourhood.” Snotlout snorted.

“This is such a significant moment. You two are part of an elite group now, my friends. And two of the few who wasn't killed by their successor.” Fishlegs stated.

“ _So far._ ” Tuffnut commented, while his sister while his sister snickered.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Raeda asked threateningly as she turned towards the male Thorston, daring him to repeat that sentence.

“Nothing.” The Thorston twins said in unison, clearly frightened.

“Yeah, you’re right. I mean, it's like... being a part of history, right?” Hiccup said.

“Uh, hello? Three hundred year war between vikings and dragon over? We’re already part of history.” Hicca pointed out.

“That is true. I think that this moment would have been even better if I could have made that portrait.” Raeda said, after giving a warning glare to Tuffnut and Ruffnut. Hicca gave her best human friend a sympathetic look.

“Please! This is a history of goof-balls.” Snotlout said rolling his eyes as he pointed to one particular portrait. “Heh-heh, what a clown.”

“You’re just jealous, Snotlout.” Raeda said.

Fishlegs then noticed the portrait that Snotlout was pointing at “That is Hamish the First. He was our richest and most revered leader. And his son, Hamish the Second.” The young Ingerman explained.

"I'm Hamish the First. Bow down before me and kiss my pointy shoes." Snotlout mocked in a nasally voice.

“Come on, Snotlout. Show some respect to your former chief.” Hicca said.

Ruffnut decided to go along with this. She got to Snotlout and got down, as if she was actually going to kiss his boots, only push him backwards causing him to trip over Tuffnut who snuck up and crouched down behind him. The Thorston twins high-fived and laughed at Snotlout. Just as the Jorgenson boy was about to say something to them, the impact of his fall, caused the portrait of the Hamishes to slip out of its’ hook and fall right on him, causing the blonde twins to laugh even more.

“Look what you did to the Hamishes!” Fishlegs said, starting to worry. He picked up the portrait and immediately put it back “Forgive us, please! We’re so sorry!” Just as he placed the portrait back, a piece of paper flew out from the shield, catching Snotlout and Tuffnuts’ attention.

“What's that? It could be mine!” Tuffnut said as he tried to grab the paper. Snotlout beat him to it.

“Looks like some sort of map... with _poetry_.” Snotlout said, reading the parchment.

Before he could read further, a hand shot out and grabbed the paper. “I'll take that.” Gobber said. He noticed the teens when the portrait fell on Snotlout and when he saw the paper fall out from behind the portrait, he immediately made his way towards them.

“Hey! That's my poetry map!” Snotlout said.

Gobber ignored him and looked at the parchment. “This should have been destroyed along time ago.” The blacksmith/dragon dentist said.

“Really?” Hicca asked curiously.

“Why? What's so different about it?” Astrid asked, also curious.

“Men lost their limbs, their lives, and their minds trying to find that treasure.” Gobber said as he tried to keep the map away from the teens.

Recognition then came to Fishlegs. “I've heard about this! The treasure of Hamish the First. His son buried him with it and left this map. They say that the clues are so complicated that only a brilliant mind can decipher them.”

Raeda seemed to recognise this as well. “My family has been trying to find treasure for years. None of them were even close!”

“Stoick and I even went after this treasure.” Gobber said. “It lured us high into the mountains in a blinding snow storm. We fought like badgers over the meaning of the clues. We were lucky to make it back with our lives... and our friendship intact. For your own good kids, forget you ever saw this.” He advised as he walked off with the map. His words convinced Hiccup, Hicca, Astrid and Raeda to listen to him, but Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs seemed far too interested to forget about it.

Finally the day came where the portrait was going to be unveiled for everyone, including Stoick, Hicca and Hiccup who haven’t seen it yet, to see. Everyone was in the Great Hall while the Haddock family and Bucket were on the stadium with the portrait on an easel covered with a purple cloth.

“This is it, kids. This is our legacy.” Stoick said excitedly to his children, who shared in his excitement.

Bucket then revealed his masterpiece for the publics’ eyes. When he did, everyone, including the chief, was cheering, happy with the work. Everyone that is, except for two auburn-haired twins. They stared at the portrait for a moment before it finally registered to them what was wrong. The portrait of their father was fine, but theirs’ was a bit....altered. For one thing, the Hiccup in the portrait looked a lot taller and way bulkier than the actual Hiccup. Not even the Haddock boy could recognise himself in the portrait.

“Whoa. What happened to Hiccup and Hicca?”

“Who cares?” Astrid asked, looking at the portrait of Hiccup with the same dreamy expression that Ruffnut had.

“I care.” Raeda said. Seeing Hiccup as her brother for the past four years, the Henderson girl wasn’t quite taken in by his portrait look and preferred the original one way more. Also as a perfectionist in anything art-related, she was completely annoyed by the visible inaccuracies of the portrait.

“Hey, Bucket? Wh-why am I so... like _that_?” Hiccup asked, turning to the blonde artist, while his sister continued to stare at the portrait in silence.

“Why is the sky blue? Why do I have a bucket on me head? We'll never know the answers.” Bucket answered innocently, not sensing the Haddock twins’ discomfort.

He wasn’t the only one though. “Oh, you did a brilliant job, Bucket! One of your best works yet!” Stoick complimented as he came up to Bucket with a celebratory drink. “Don't you think so, son?”

“But it's not me.” Hiccup said in disbelief

Stoick still didn’t understand. “Sure it is! It's you but... you know, _bigger_. _Stronger_.”

“Now _that's_ the son of a Chief.” Mulch said coming up to them with his own drink.

“You see what I mean?” Stoick asked, clanking his mug with Mulchs’ mug.

Hiccup stepped back, not in the mood to celebrate. He then turned to the portrait and noticed that his sister was still staring at it with a downcast expression. “Hicca?”

Hicca turned to her brother and without a word, immediately stormed out of the Great Hall. Hiccup looked at her picture in the portrait again when he realised what was bothering her. He immediately went after her, followed by Raeda and Astrid.

Hicca continued to walk down the stairs of the Great Hall and then she stopped and sat down on the steps, trying to process what just happened. This allowed Hiccup, Raeda and Astrid to catch up with.

“I can’t believe he accepted that portrait! How could he?! That’s not us and he accepted it without any questions!” Hicca ranted.

“You’re picture wasn’t that bad, Hicca. At least Bucket didn’t paint muscles on you like he did with Hiccup.” Astrid said.

Hicca scoffed at that, while Hiccup and Raeda turned to the blonde girl. “Astrid have you seen Hiccas’ picture on the portrait?” Raeda asked.

“Yes, I did.” Astrid answered. Truthfully she only focused on Hiccup more muscular picture than Hiccas’ picture. She took one glance at the Haddock girls’ picture and the only difference she saw was that Hicca looked a little taller than she really is. That isn’t so bad, right?

Hiccup and Raeda looked at her doubtfully. “Are you sure, Astrid?” Hiccup asked. “Because you should have been the first to notice what was wrong.”

“Okay, I didn’t look at it properly.” Astrid admitted. “Why, what was wrong with it? It didn’t seem that different.”

Raeda decided to explain. “Hiccas’ picture is different, Astrid. One; it made her look like a warrior which is a complete opposite of what she wants to be, a healer. Two; she didn’t look like herself at all She looked more like you.”

“Actually it was more of an auburn-haired version of you with green eyes and different coloured clothes.” Hiccup admitted to Astrid.

Astrid was shocked at this. “What?! That can’t be right!”

“It is Astrid.” Hicca said. “Go back and look at the portrait. I don’t put spikes on my skirts, I don’t wear metal shoulder pads, I put my hair in two braid-tails not one, I’ve never worn a head-band in my life and I don’t carry an axe with me. I didn’t even have a weapon with me he was painting us!”

Astrid was even more surprised to hear that. “Was that all there in the portrait?” She asked, turning to Raeda and Hiccup. The two nodded their heads.

Hicca got up and started walking again “I don’t know what’s worse; the fact that dad prefers a shield maiden over a healer or the fact that he prefers Astrid over me as a daughter, no offense Astrid.”

“None taken.” Astrid said.

Hiccup started emphasizing with his sister. “You’re right, sis. This is unbelievable. Our father likes that painting better than the real us! I mean, think about it. Even our _names_! You know it's Viking tradition to call the runt of the litter a ‘hiccup’.”

As if on cue one the adult Viking, who was herding his sheeps, turned to his smallest sheep. “Come on, little Hiccup!” He then noticed the Haddock boy “Oh! Hey, Hiccup!”

Hiccup sighed at that. “Plus, Hicca is obviously the female version of that name.” Hicca pointed out.

“You’d think by now our dad has learned to accept us.” Hiccup said.

“He does accept you guys... He just accepts the painting more.” Astrid said, trying to console them.

That didn’t help either of them as they continued to walk. “Yeah, Astrid thanks for highlighting their problem.” Raeda said to the Hofferson girl.

The four of them then walked up to the forge, where they saw Fishlegs there looking a little nervous.

“Wh-what are you doing out here...?” Hiccup asked, feeling suspicious.

“Nothing!” Fishlegs said nervously, before slightly facing his left side. “Coo, coo! Coo, coo!”

“Oh, gods... Okay, where are they?” Hiccup asked exasperated, while Astrid, Raeda and Hicca rolled their eyes.

“Who?” Fishlegs asked, nervous again. He then tilted his head to the left again. “Who-hoo! Who-hoo!” The four teens decided to walked to the left side of the forge to see for themselves.

“Never volunteer as a look-out Fishlegs.” Raeda advised Fishlegs as she passed by him.

The four of them walked to the side where they saw Ruffnut and Tuffnut, who looked like they were waiting for someone to come out of the window of the forge.

“Ah-hem!” Hicca said, getting the Thorston twins’ attention. She crossed her arms.

“What are you doing?!” Hiccup asked.

Before either of the twins could answer, Snotlout not-so-gracefully leapt out of the forge window with a paper in his hand. “I've got the map.” He explained holding up the paper. “We're finding that treasure!” He then turned and pointed at Fishlegs “And _you_ are a horrible look out.”

“I should have known you guys would do something like this.” Raeda said, sighing.

“You heard what Gobber said. The bravest warriors in history have died trying to find that treasure.” Astrid pointed out.

“Yeah. And I'm next.” Snotlout said, proudly.

“Are you serious?” Raeda asked in disbelief.

“Well, I prefer living to see my next birthday.” Astrid said.

“We'll be legends! They'll sing songs about us.” Fishlegs said excitedly.

“You'll be _dead_.” Astrid pointed out, trying to knock some sense into her friends

“Come on, guys. This is an absolutely insane idea. Not even my parents could find it.” Raeda said.

“Or Stoick.” Astrid added.

The last statement caused Hiccups’ eyes to light up. “You're right. He couldn't...” He then walked up to Snotlout and snatched the map from his hands. “Give me that map.”

“Finally, someone is making sense.” Astrid said relieved.

Raeda, however, knew what one of her best human friend was thinking. “Guess again, Astrid.”

“Alright. Where do we start?” Hiccup asked, looking at the map

“Are you serious?” Astrid asked in disbelief. She turned to his twin. “Hicca talk some sense into your brother.”

Unfortunately for Astrid, Hicca had the same spark in her eyes as her brother. “You know, this might not be such a bad idea after all.” She said as she walked up to her brother. Astrid could watch the duo in shock.

“Think about it, Astrid. Our father couldn't find that treasure. What-what would he say if we did something that even Stoick the Vast couldn't do?” Hiccup explained, putting a little accent in his fathers’ name. “How great would that be?”

“You're gonna go after this no matter what Raeda and I say, right? So, yeah, pretty great.” Astrid said.

Hiccup was surprised by that. “So, you're not gonna give me and Hicca a hard time about this?”

“Oh, I'll definitely give you guys a hard time. Every step of the way.” Astrid explained, tapping Hiccups’ shoulder. “Besides, there’s no way I can let both of you go with just them.” She gestured to Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the latter making the former to punch him in the face.

“Harder! I said I want to see stars.” Ruffnut did just that “Ah...”

“What about you, Rae?” Hicca asked, turning to the Henderson girl.

“Well, you know what they say; if you can’t beat them, join them. Plus, I see what you guys mean. It would be awesome if I could find that treasure when no one in my family could.” Raeda said.

The teens then looked at the map “Alright, it looks like the map leads you to these spots.” Hiccup observed

“And the riddles are clues to what we're supposed to find!” Fishlegs pointed out.

Snotlout started getting impatient “Blah-blah-blah! Where's the treasure?” He snatched the map from his cousins’ hands and read the first clue. “Hmm, clue number one: ‘Where the land meets the sea, in the crook of the master's knee, that's where your search will be...gin.’”

“That doesn't sound so brilliant.” Ruffnut commented.

“It is a difficult riddle.” Raeda admitted.

“Okay. Think, think, think, think, think. Think, think...” Tuffnut muttered while hitting his forehead. His face lit up for a second until it fell “I forgot what I was thinking about.”

The wheels in Hiccas’ and Hiccups’ minds started turning as they both tried to decipher the riddle.

“The ‘master's knee’?” Hiccup muttered. Realization then came to him. “We’ve seen this before!”

The same realization then came to Hicca. “The Great Hall!”

The eight teens, guided by Hiccup and Hicca, went to the Great Hall and made their way to the portraits. Astrid went to the newest portrait to get another look at Hiccas’ portrait. She was surprised to find that Hicca _does_ in fact look so much like Astrid, she could be her auburn-haired, green eyed clone!

‘How did I miss that?’ Astrid wondered. Her eyes then went to Hiccups’ picture. ‘That’s how.’ Shaking her head, she turned to where the others were looking at the portrait of the Hamishes.

Hiccup then pointed to the portrait, specifically of Hamish the First. “Look, right there, where his knee bends. It's pointing to this spot on the beach! That's where we start!”

“Everyone, get your dragons and saddle up! This quest has officially begun!” Hicca said excitedly.

The teens immediately got their dragons and flew to their destination. Once they all landed, Hiccup read out the next clue. “Listen up, you guys. ‘From here you will see the seed that's been sown. Look to where water turns to bone.’”

“’Water turns to bone?’ Hamish isn't even trying to make sense!” Snotlout said.

“No, it—‘Water turns to bone’... ‘water turns to bone’...”

“He has to be referring to something hard and brittle as a bone.” Hicca said.

The Haddock twins then figured it out “He must mean ice! The glacier!”

What the teens didn’t know that back on Berk, Gobber has discovered that the map was missing. Putting two and two together, the Blacksmith immediately went to the Great Hall to inform the chief.

“You had the map, and you didn't destroy it?! What were you thinking?!” Stoick demanded.

“I know. I'm an idiot. I made a dumb mistake.” Gobber said, pacing around “I thought maybe you and I could take another crack at finding that treasure.”

“Gobber!”

“We turned back too early! So we lost a couple of toes.” Gobber said nonchalantly.

Stoick sighed as he got up “Come on, Gobber. We've got to find Hiccup, Hicca and the others before they get themselves killed! Why would they do something like this?”

Gobber was about to follow his best friend when he took another glance at the new portrait and sighed. He knew exactly why those two went on the quest.

Meanwhile, back in the glacier, the teens were in awe of what they saw inside.

“There's something in there.” Astrid noted, looking at an object buried in the frozen ground.

“I bet that guy saw it too.” Fishlegs said, creeped out by the frozen Viking trapped in the ice.

“I do not want to end up like him.” Raeda said, stepping back.

Hicca decided to read the next clue "Call on Magni, you'll go astray. Freya, though, will show the way."

Snotlout then got an idea “I get it.” He then got down and banged his helmet-covered head on the frozen ground to break the ice. Hiccup looked up and saw a massive, spike mace attached to the ice wall. Breaking the ice seemed to have caused it to swing downwards. Just before it could hit Snotlout, Hiccup pushed his cousin out of the way. “NO!” Luckily, the two boys avoided getting crushed just in time

“That was close.” Hicca said, relieved for her brother and her cousins’ lives

“We can't break the ice. That's what Magni means. He's the God of Strength.” Hiccup stated.

Fishlegs agreed with that “That's right! And Freya...”

“Is the Goddess of Fire!” Hiccup, Fishlegs and Hicca said in unison.

“And that's exactly what we're going to use.” Hiccup said. He then looked up to where his dragon is. “Toothless...” Hearing his rider call him, the male Night Fury came by his side “You know what to do. Light 'em up.”

Toothless complied and shot a plasma blast at the ground, causing the ice to melt. Hiccup carefully tried to grab the object. He retracted his hand for a second because the object was still hot from Toothless’ plasma blast. “Ow!” He then grabbed the metallic object.

“That's it? This is the treasure?” Ruffnut asked in disbelief.

“No. Can't be. But I bet this will lead us to it.” Hiccup said.

Tuffnut then grabbed the metallic object. “Take us to the treasure!”

“Seriously, Tuffnut?” Hicca asked

“Let me know if it answers.” Astrid said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Hicca grab the object from Tuffnut and put it in her satchel. “This is just the first piece.” Her brother said.

Before anyone else could say anything, the ground started to shake and crack. The glacier was going to collapse!

“Whoa! WHOA! TOOTHLESS!!” Hiccup screamed. Toothless immediately went to his rider and got him out of there with the other riders following on their dragons.

Back to Stoick and Gobber, the latter was inspecting a trail left by Toothless and Midnight.

“Night Fury prints.” Gobber noted. “They were here...” He then scooped up some of the sand and sniffed it. “About an hour ago.”

Stoick was amazed at his old friends’ unique ability “I'll never understand how you do that. What does an hour ago smell like, Gobber?”

“Not as strong as a half hour ago.” Gobber answered.

The chief then saw something from the distance “Look!” He said pointing to the collapsing glacier “The kids must have found something up there.”

“It was in the glacier! I knew it!” Gobber exclaimed.

Stoick was not happy to hear that “Oh, ya knew it, did ya? Then how come we spent a week _digging in the sand_?!”

“You’re the one who came up with that idea!” Gobber retorted.

Stoick contemplated for a moment before saying. “Hicca and Hiccup got further in one afternoon than we got in a month.”

Gobber decided to take this opportunity to point out the problem “Yeah. Looks like the little kids got the best of us. And we think we're the _big, strong, fierce Vikings_.” He said, flexing his arm for emphasis.

“What are you saying, Gobber?” Stoick asked confused.

Gobber sighed and decided to be blunt “Stoick, it's the painting.”

As soon as Stoick heard that, the realization hit him like a ton of metal “Of course! They’re trying to prove themselves.” He then felt ashamed and guilty for allowing that portrait to be hung on the Great Hall. They probably think he wants the painting versions of them instead of the original versions. If something happened to either or both of them on this quest, he would never forgive himself.

The teens gather on a sea stack and Hiccup read the next clue “At the edge of the world, amidst the raging sea, in the serpent's mouth, lies another key.”

“Serpents? I hate serpents.” Tuffnut said, unaware of an obvious fact “Those are reptiles, right?”

“You do realize you're sitting on one?” Ruffnut pointed out, referring to Belch.

“Eugh!” Tuffnut said, as the realisation came to him.

“Hey! That cloud looks like a snake.” Snotlout said, pointing at one of the clouds.

“Yeah, and in five minutes, it'll look like a bunny.” Astrid said sarcastically.

“Maybe it could be in the serpent like cloud.” Raeda said with equal sarcasm.

That gave Hiccup an idea “Wait-wait-wait a minute. He and Raeda might be onto something. ‘In the mouth... lies the key.’”

Hicca followed her brothers’ train of thought. “It must be in something that looks like a serpent.”

Hiccup then spotted a rock formation that looked a lot like a serpent. Comparing it with the picture in the map, he got his answer. “Look! Right there!”

“The key must be in the mouth of that rock!” Hicca said excitedly.

The Haddock twins got their dragons ready. “Toothless/Midnight, let's go!”

They were about to take off, until Fishlegs stopped them “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa a-are you two crazy?” Fishlegs asked panicking. “You guys can't take two Night Furies with a wingspan of forty-eight feet each and expect them to hover in winds like _that_! You'll both be killed!”

Realizing that he was right, Hiccup then turned to the Ingerman boy. “Well, what's the wingspan of Meatlug?”

It took Fishlegs a second to figure out what Hiccup was trying to say.

A moment later, Fishlegs was flying on Meatlug with Hicca and Hiccup in tow, the former riding behind Fishlegs and the latter hanging on a rope tied onto Meatlugs’ saddle. The auburn twins had to flip a dagger to decide who rides where.

“Keep her steady!” Hiccup said.

Fishlegs started panicking even more “Oh, Thor... Oh, Thor! Do we really need that treasure?! Isn't our friendship treasure enough?!” He called out.

“Come on, Fishlegs! You can do this.” Hicca encouraged.

The four of them reached the mouth of the rock where another metallic object, similar to the previous one, can be seen. Hiccup tried to grab it, but was struggling. “I can't reach it!”

“Okay, we tried, ‘A’ for effort!” Fishlegs said.

“Don’t turn back!” Hicca said sternly.

Hiccup then got an idea “Hold on!” He then climb down to the end of the rope and tried to use his prosthetic foot to get the object. “Okay... Come on. Come on... No.” He managed to grab it with his foot and kicked it up so that he could catch it with his hand. “Yes! Got it!” He exclaimed, holding the object in triumph. Relieved, Fishlegs steered Meatlug back to the others. “How's that for a hiccup?”

The next part of the map lead them to the forest. The dragons walked to their destination with their riders on their saddles.

Hiccup then looked at the two metallic pieces. “Look, they fit together! We must be on the right track.”

“You know, for a really difficult and challenging quest, this seems to have been easy so far.” Raeda commented.

“Hiccup, what are you going to do with your part of the treasure?” Ruffnut asked.

“I'm not really here for the treasure.” Hiccup answered.

“Me neither.” Hicca said.

“Great! I get their shares!” Snotlout called.

Astrid looked worriedly at the Haddock twins. “You know, y-you guys don't have to do this, right?”

“Yeah, try tellin' that to our dad.” Hiccup said, while Hicca nodded in agreement.

“He’s not really making you guys do this. I bet if he found out about this, he would keep you both on lockdown.” Raeda pointed.

“Rae, you saw how happy he was about that portrait. We need to prove to him that we can be the Viking he is the way we are.” Hicca said.

Astrid turned to the Haddock girl. “Just know this Hicca; I can never be the girl you are, and I mean that in a good way. I will never have the same medical knowledge that you have and I will always do the same thing everyone else does, while you and your brother go on your own tracks. That’s how we were able to make peace with the dragons after three hundred years. Don’t ever forget that.”

Hicca smiled at the Hofferson shield maiden. “Thanks Astrid.”

They finally arrived at their destination. “This must be the spot. Why else would anybody build a wall in the middle of the woods?” Hiccup asked rhetorically.

“Uh, duh, to keep out the other trees.” Tuffnut answered.

Hicca read out the clue “Ok, here we go. ‘The world is right, when stars align; when not in sync, the danger you'll find.’”

“Stars?! I'm not waitin' around here till night!” Snotlout said.

“No, I don't think he means actual stars. I mean, the water didn't really turn to bone.” Hiccup pointed out.

“He’s using metaphors in all of his clues.” Hicca added.

“Well, what do you two think it means?” Astrid asked.

“Why are you asking _them_? Maybe _I_ know.” Snotlout boasted. This caused everyone to stare at the Jorgenson boy, expecting him to come up with an answer to the riddle.

“Well, Snotlout?” Raeda asked.

“I said, ‘Maybe.’ Turns out, I don't.” Snotlout stated, causing the others to roll their eyes.

Fishlegs got off Meatlug and took a closer look at the wall in front of them. “Huh... There are shapes carved into each one of these bricks.” He observed.

Hiccup came up with a theory “Keep a lookout for anything that looks like a star.”

“Got one!” Snotlout said, spotting the stone with the star carved in. He was about to pull it out when Hicca stopped him.

“Hold it, Snotlout.” Hicca said. “Don’t remove that stone.”

“Why not?” Snotlout asked annoyed.

"Well considering the fact the first time you tried to remove something during this quest it ended with you nearly losing your head, I’d say I'm being properly paranoid." Hicca stated.

Snotlout scoffed at her and pulled back the stone anyway, only to trigger an avalanche! “Uh-oh!”

( **A/N: Credit goes to snake screamer for this scene.** )

“See what I mean?!” Hicca yelled.

“Put it back! Put it back! Put it back!” Fishlegs exclaimed, panicking.

“Hurry!” Raeda shouted.

Snotlout was desperately trying to push the rock back to its’ place, but it wouldn’t budge. He then turned to his dragon. “Hookfang!” The Monstrous Nightmare was distracted by a falling leaf until he heard his rider calling him “HOOKFANG!” The Monstrous Nightmare immediately snapped out of his daze and used his snout to push the rock back into place.

“That was close.” Hicca said, letting out the breath she was holding. She then turned to Snotlout. “Say it.” She said.

“You were right and I was wrong. Again.” Snotlout grumbled, reluctantly.

Hiccup looked back at the map “Okay... It says, ‘In sync.’ That means there must be another star.”

“Over here!” Astrid said, pointing to another rock with a star carved on it.

“I think we're supposed to pull them out at the same time.” Hiccup concluded.

“How are we supposed to do that?” Snotlout asked annoyed. Hicca raised an eyebrow and looked at the Thorston twins and their Zippleback. “Oh...” Snotlout said understanding what she means.

( **A/N: Again credit goes to snake screamer for this. Thanks so much!** **J** )

Hiccup turned to the Thorston twins “Ruff? Tuff?”

The blonde twins simultaneously signalled their dragon, Barf and Belch to remove the two stones. The Zippleback followed their riders’ orders and pulled out the rocks in perfect sync, causing the stone wall to divide, revealing a passageway to the cave.

The teens and dragons walked inside, all of them in awe of what was inside. As soon as the last one, Toothless, came in, the walls closed behind them, sealing them in!

Everyone continued on their path, with Hiccup and Astrid holding up torches lit up by their dragons for light. They then arrived at a large chamber.

“Ugh, it's so hot.” Snotlout said, wiping the sweat off his forehead “Is anybody else hot? 'Cause I'm really hot.”

“I know. I'm sweating like a dragon at an eel party.” Tuffnut agreed

“Uh, guys? Is it just me, or is the floor moving?” Astrid asked worriedly.

“It’s definitely not you, Astrid.” Raeda answered, also worried.

“Uh, Toothless, can you give us some light?” Hiccup said, turning to Toothless.

“Midnight, plasma blast.” Hicca said, turning to her dragon.

Both of the Night Furies fired one plasma blast each to the ceiling, allowing everyone to see the cause of the heat.

Fishlegs gasped as they saw the millions of tiny dragons, smaller than a Terrible Terror, covering the floor “That's why it's so hot in here. Fireworm dragons.”

“Whoa.” Tuffnut said in awe. He was about pick up one of the tiny dragons when Hiccup stopped him.

“Stop! Their skin burns hotter than the sun.” Hiccup pointed out.

“Yeah, but how hot can the sun really be?” Tuffnut asked, holding one of the Fireworm dragons in his hand. He got his answer when the said dragon flamed up. “YEOUCH! OW! AARRAGH!”

“That answer your question, Tuff?” Raeda asked rhetorically as Hicca went to treat Tuffnuts’ burnt hand.

The Fireworms then started to attack! Luckily the other dragons came in and protected their riders by blasting fire at the small dragons, keeping them away. The fire lit up a pit in the centre of the chamber containing six pedestals, each with an object on it. Hiccup and Hicca stepped on to the pit accompanied by their dragons.

“Grab ‘em and let's go!” Snotlout urged.

“No, it's a choice.” Hiccup said calmly, holding up the map “Listen to this, guys. ‘Something pure and something strong. Look first to yourself, and you won't go wrong.’”

“Strong... That must be the one made of iron.” Fishlegs guessed.

“But iron's not pure.” Astrid pointed out “Take the gold.”

Meanwhile the dragons continued to protect their riders against the flaming Fireworm dragons. But time seemed to be running out as the dragons are starting to reach their shot limit and the smaller dragons continue to increase the heat.

“It's getting really hard to breathe!” Astrid shouted.

“That's what happens when you're getting roasted alive!” Fishlegs pointed out “You might wanna make a decision soon, guys! We don't have much time!” He told the Haddock twins.

Calmly, the auburn-haired twins looked at the clue again. They take a look at each of the objects before their eyes settled on one particular object.

"Look to yourself." Hiccup muttered, as he and his sister get close to the object they were looking at.

“Could it be?” Hicca wondered.

“Careful, it could be a trap.” Astrid warned.

Looking at the only object which showed their reflection, the twins looked at each other and nodded. The clue never said that the _object_ was something strong and pure. Hiccup then picked up the metallic object. This caused the Fireworms to move away from the chamber, giving a moment of peace....until the floor that Hicca, Hiccup, Midnight and Toothless were standing on started to collapse!

“Hiccup! Hicca!” Astrid shouted in worry. The two Night Furies managed to jump to safety, but their riders weren’t as lucky as they fell through the collapsed floor!

“No!” Raeda yelled in horror. With a roar, Toothless and Midnight jumped in after them.

“Oh, no! Hurry! Where'd they go?! Hiccup! Hicca!” Astrid yelled in desperation.

Suddenly the whole cave started to collapse as rocks fell down everywhere.

“We gotta get out of here!” Tuffnut shouted.

Snotlout found an opening “Through there!”

“No! We're not leaving them!” Astrid said, as she kept Fishlegs from getting on Meatlug.

“We need to find Hicca and Hiccup or they’ll be buried!” Raeda said.

“If we don't go now we'll all be trapped. There won't be anybody to help Hicca and Hiccup.” Fishlegs pointed out.

Realising that he has a point, the two girls reluctantly got on their dragons and immediately followed the others out of the cave.

Down below, Hiccup, Toothless, Hicca and Midnight were recovering from the fall.

“You okay, sis?” Hiccup asked, turning to his sister.

“I fine. No broken bones or bruises and the same can be said about Midnight.” Hicca answered with her dragon warbling in agreement “What about you two? Are you guys okay?”

Hiccup turned to his dragon, who gave a warble as if to say ‘yes’ before he nodded as well. Hicca, however, noted that her brother was holding his right arm. She immediately went to him and pulled down his sleeve, revealing a wound which was most likely received during the fall. “Why do you act like I don’t know you at all?” She asked her brother, while Toothless crooned worriedly at the sight of his riders’ wound. Hicca then treated her brothers’ wound.

As soon as his sister finished, Hiccup looked at their surroundings “We gotta find some way outta here. Give us some light, bud?”

Toothless fired a plasma blast at a nearby rock, lighting up the room. Hicca then noticed something on the ground. “Hiccup! Come look at this!”

Hiccup walked towards his sister and looked at what she was pointing at. On the ground was a shallow hole. What caught the twins’ attention was that the hole was made at a particular shape.

“I wonder...” Hiccup muttered. He then turned to his sister. “Do you have the other pieces?” She nodded her head, took out the two metallic objects from her satchel and gave them to her brother, who was holding the third piece. Hiccup connected the pieces together and fit them in the hole on the ground, revealing those objects as a key. He turned the key causing a passageway to form.

Hiccup and Hicca were about to walked to the passage when their dragons gave out worried croons “Well, we've come this far.” Hiccup said turning to their dragons.

“This might be our way out.” Hicca pointed out. The four of them then walked down the passageway.

Outside the cave, the other teens were trying to rescue their trapped friends “Keep digging! We've gotta find them!” Astrid said.

“Find who?” A voice called out from behind them, making them freeze.

“Oh no.” Raeda muttered as she and the others turned to find Stoick, Gobber and the blue Thunderdrum right behind them. Noticing the cave-in and four missing individuals, the chiefs’ eyes widened in horror as he realised what happened.

Back inside the cave the twins and the Night Furies found a room full of treasure. They were in awe at the sight. Hiccup then saw a rolled up parchment on a lone pedestal. He grabbed it and read what was written on it. “’This treasure was passed from father to son. I leave it to you the next worthy one. For only a hiccup could get this far. From one to another, be proud of who you are!’” He opened up the parchment, revealing a drawing of Hamish the First and a very different Hamish the Second.

“Whoa. Hamish the Second was a hiccup. Just like us!” Hiccup said to his sister and their dragons “He knew only another one of us could find this place.”

“That’s why it’s been so easy for us to solve and so difficult for others to do so. It was never about strength, it was about the mind!” Hicca said.

The twins then looked around them “Look at all this stuff! I guess being a hiccup isn't such a bad thing after all. Neither is being a healer, sis. You never know when it’s going to come in handy.” Hiccup said, gesturing to his wrapped up wound.

Hicca smiled at him before looking at the treasure “I think I’m going to reconsider letting Snotlout get my share.” She said.

Suddenly, the pedestal in front of them moved downwards, causing two pedestals to rise up at opposite ends. One pedestal had a hammer on it, the other had a quill. “Wow. So, Hamish II really loved pedestals.” Hiccup said. He then looked down and saw another riddle. “And apparently riddles.”

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Hicca wondered.

Hiccup read their final riddle “’In between the body and mind, a choice must be made on what you find. At this moment you must look to yourself, as only one path will give you true wealth.’ Ugh.” Behind them, the ceiling started to fall.

“Oh, that’s why.” Hicca said.

“Come on, Hamish, you're killing us!” Hiccup muttered.

The twins and dragons then looked at the two pedestals in front of them as the ceiling continued to collapse. They looked at each other and nodded before running to one of the pedestal.

Back outside, the others were desperately trying to dig through the rocks “Keep digging! That's my son and daughter in there!” They stopped digging when the ground started shaking. Looking behind them, they saw a hill sinking to the ground.

“Hiccup! Hicca!” Stoick whispered the fear evident in his voice. He and the others went to where the hill once was and found the twins and their dragons all okay. Hicca was holding the picture of the Hamishes while Hiccup was holding the quill in the air. It turned out that the area around the quill was the only safe place where the rocks didn’t fall.

“Hicca! Hiccup!” Stoick said, running to his children.

“Hey, Dad.” The twins said before running to him.

The chief picked both his children up and held them in a tight embrace. “Uh, Dad I can't breathe.” Hiccup muttered.

“Me neither.” Hicca said.

The others came to them expressing their concerns, when Snotlout decided to break up the reunion. “Blah, blah, blah. Who cares?! Where's the treasure?”

Hicca unrolled the parchment, showing the others the picture of the Hamishes “This is Hamish's real son.” Hiccup explained.

“That's not treasure.” Snotlout said in dismay. Raeda elbowed him in the ribs for that.

“To a father, it is.” Stoick said “I never meant to make you two feel like you had to do something like this.”

“We know, Dad. But we had to do it. For ourselves.” Hiccup said and his sister nodded in agreement. The father and children hugged once more. **_Hicca and I have spent most of our lives trying to prove to our dad that we could be his kind of Viking._**

Later on, back on Berk, Stoick had Bucket painted another more accurate portrait of him and his children to be hung on the wall. As they admired the new portrait, the chief put one hand each on his childrens’ shoulder, letting them know that he is proud of them the way the are.

**_As it turns out, we already were._ **


	10. Dragon Flower

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 10: Dragon Flower**

**_Berk is a small island in the middle of nowhere. So when we get a taste of something new..._ **

Another normal day in Berk. Hiccup was in his house sketching a picture of Toothless in his notebook. He dipped his quill in the pot to get some more ink, only to find the pot empty.

Bucket was standing on a small boat near the shores of Berk, when he spotted a familiar ship approaching. “Trader Johann is here. Trader Johann!” He announced excitedly to the other villagers nearby. He was so excited, he accidently fell off his boat. Soon the other villagers gathered at the docks, excitedly waiting for the ship to come.

**_We tend to go a little overboard. Unfortunately, new isn't always good._ **

“Ah, Berk, my favorite of all the islands I travel to.” Trader Johann greeted as he set a plank between his ship and the docks.

“Where have you been this time, Trader Johann?” Bucket asked, having swam back to the docks.

“Oh, Bucket, the things I've seen, the people I've met! I'd need a week to regale you, but alas, we have limited time to conduct our business together.” Trader Johann answered. He then turned to address the crowd.“Whatever it is you're looking for I can assure you you'll find it here!” The villagers immediately boarded the ship.

“It's all mine. I call dibs on everything.” Snotlout declared.

“I have a variety of things. I've got food of all sorts, spices, exotic animals...” Johann announced.

Tuffnut spotted one of the stacks moving. “Did that bag move? What’s in it?” The bag was then covered in spikes.“Whoa!”

“Works of art, jewelry, not to mention, knowledge.”

“Trader Johann, is this your only book on botany?” Fishlegs asked, holding up a book.

“Yes, Mr. Fishlegs. Why it was given to me by the author himself.” Johann answered.

Fishlegs then took out a necklace with three teeth. “Would you take this necklace? It's made from baby dragons' teeth.”

“Fair enough Mr. Fishlegs.” Johann said taking the necklace.

Hicca was looking through the library, until she found what she was looking for. Her eyes widened as she held the book. “A Healers’ Guide To Deadly Diseases. Vol. I’. I need this!” She turned to Johann taking a bracelet with Night Fury scales out of her bag. “Johann, I’ll take this book for this bracelet with real Night Fury scales.”

“I accept!” Johann said, carefully taking the bracelet as he saw the high value in it.

Raeda was looking between a new set of paints and a chest full of different cloths, both things she wants. ‘I’ll get both.’ She decided. She took out two paintings from her bag. “Here you go, Johann.” She said handing the painting to the trader.

“Ah, thank you Miss Raeda.” Johann said being careful with the drawings. He always got a high price for the paintings he sold made from Raeda.

Snotlout was admiring his reflection from a metal dish. “Oooh, I'm even better looking than I thought.” He said to himself. He looked at Astrid, who was testing out a mace and winked at her.

The Hofferson girl caught the wink and rolled her eyes in disgust. She then saw Gobber rubbing his face with a cloth, looking extremely bliss. “You okay there, Gobber?”

“I'm more than okay, I'm in heaven!” Gobber said with a sigh.

Hiccup found a pot of ink. “Oh, that's pure squid ink, Hiccup.Wrestled from the colossal squid of the Northern waters.” Johann explained, rubbing his left shoulder.

Hiccup brought out as spy-glass from his bag “Well, how about this spyglass?” He offered.“You know, I made it myself.”

“I know. You've given me five just like it.” Johann said unimpressed.“Unfortunately, I've only got the two eyes. What else have you got?”

Hiccup looked through his bag again and found a winch. “Well then, what about this winch? Eh? You can use it to pull up your gangplank.”

Johann accepted it. “A welcome tool for a working man's ailing shoulder. Consider it done.”

Hiccup and Hicca then saw their dad testing out a sword. “Wow. Another sword. Just what we need.” Hiccup said sarcastically.

“Yep, we’ll just add that to the ever-growing pile.” Hicca said with equal sarcasm.

“Very funny you two. For your information, it's not for me. I'm heading off to my yearly meeting with the Chief of the Shivering Shores. The last man who showed up without a gift left without a head.” Stoick informed them. He then turned to Johann. “Johann! What will you take in trade?”

“Stoick! It is but your good graces I desire when my amble ship passes through Berk.” Johann answered.

“You'll always be welcome on our shores.” Stoick said. He got off the ship and went to his dragon, who was waiting patiently for his rider. “I'll be back in five days.” He then realized something.“What am I saying? I'll be back in two, thanks to Thornado.”

“Oh, you finally named him?” Hiccup asked.“Thornado, huh?”

“That’s a good name.” Hicca complimented.

“Thanks Hicca. I named him that because he has the power of Thor and the ferocity of a tornado!” Stoick said as he got on Thornado. The dragon playfully tried to shake the chief off him.

 _‘One more reason.’_ Thornado said.

“And besides, it's the only thing he'll answer to!”

_‘There it is!’_

“Turns out he can be _quite stubborn!_ ”

“That we can tell.” Hicca said.

“Can't imagine where he gets that from.” Hiccup said sarcastically.

“Up, Thornado.” Stoick commanded. The Thunderdrum did as he was told and they flew off.

“Ah, men riding dragons. What a magnificent sight.” Johann said in awe as he watched Stoick and Thornado fly off.

“Johann!” A voice shouted catching the trader’s attention. Johann turned to find Mildew.

“Mildew!” Johann greeted.

“Did you bring what I want?” Mildew demanded.

“Always straight to the point. I like that!” Johann said. He then brought a closed basket and showed Mildew the contents. The old man seemed satisfied by what he saw.

“I assume you've brought my cabbage?” Johann asked.

Mildew pointed to the basket of cabbage, which Johann took. “Take these to my house.” Mildew said as he left the ship.

This exchanged didn’t go unnoticed by Raeda. Ever since Mildew got the dragons banished from Berk, the Henderson girl kept a close eye to the old man. She made a mental note about the exchange as she left the ship with Hicca and their dragons.

Trader Johann noticed a Terrible Terror sniffing the basket in curiosity. “Now, now, now little fella, that's not for you. Away.” Johann said, trying to shoo the fly away.

 _‘What am I, a fly?’_ The Terrible Terror said. It decided to retaliate by biting Johann’s hand.

“Ow! Feisty little one, isn't he?” Johann said rubbing his hand. He picked up the Terror and lightly threw him away. Toothless did not take kindly to how the trader treated his friend and charged after Johann. In doing so, he accidently bumped into Hiccup, causing the Haddock boy to drop his pot of ink.

“Safe distance, please!” Johann said, holding his hands to calm Toothless as the male Night Fury started growling at him.

 _‘You better apologize!’_ Toothless apologized.

“Toothless, no!” Hiccup said, calming Toothless down.“Sorry, Johann. He's just being protective.” Hiccup then saw the broken pieces of the pot and the ink spilled on the ground. He picked up one of the pieces. “Ah, it's gone.”

“Oh, sorry, lad. That was my last one.” Johann regretfully informed the boy.“But rest assured, I'll find that colossal squid and wrestle you another bottle.”

With no other choice Hiccup had to leave the ship empty-handed. “Oh, Toothless.”

 _‘I’m sorry.’_ Toothless crooned. The two of them went to join the other teens and dragons in the Academy. There they found Tuffnut setting up a new statue in the middle of the Academy.

“There we go. How does that look?” Tuffnut asked after he set up the statue.

“Beautiful.” Ruffnut praised.

“You got them just for the Academy?” Hiccup asked, surprised.

“Yeah, we got them from Trader Johann. We had to give him our great-grandfather's skull. We got to keep his clavicle.” Tuffnut explained.

“That’s nice.” Hicca said, her eyes still on her book. The teens, except for Hiccup and Raeda, looked at the Haddock girl in confusion.

“Whenever Hicca gets a new medical book she will read it once to see the contents, read it again to memorize the concepts, then read it one more time to copy down the important. Every stage of reading is given full concentration.” Hiccup explained.

“This will go on for a week or so, so if it looks like she’s distracted then worry about it.” Raeda said.

Well, if she was paying attention right now, she would also be impressed at how you two got a statue just for the Academy.” Hiccup said to the blonde twins.“You know, it's about time you guys started taking some pride in this place.”

“Duck!” Tuffnut suddenly said.

“What?” Hiccup asked confused. Though he was quick enough to follow Tuffnut and ducked, right before Barf and Belch fire at the target. That’s when it was clear to Hiccup that Ruffnut and Tuffnut didn’t buy the statue as a decorative but as a target practice.

“That was AWESOME! I wanna take a shot!” Snotlout exclaimed. He then got on Hookfang and directed him to the statue.“Fire!” Hookfang did so, causing the other dragons to take a shot at the statue. But when it came for Toothless’ turn the male Night sneezed, accidently shooting a plasma in Snotlouts’ direction. Luckily the Jorgenson boy jumped out of the way.

“Oh, that's strange.” Hiccup said, looking at Toothless. He never saw his dragon sneeze before.

“Hey! Tell Toothless to cover his mouth when he sneezes!” Snotlout said.

“I'm sorry, but that's never happened before.” Hiccup said. He went to his twin and put his hand on the page she was reading. Knowing her brother needed tell her something important, Hicca looked up. “Sis, have you ever seen Midnight or any other dragon sneeze before?” He asked. Unaware of what happened, the Haddock girl shook her head. Hiccup then nodded and took his hand off the page. Hicca just shrugged and went back to deep reading.

“Well, I think I’m going to take Toothless home.” Hiccup said getting on his saddle. “Rae, can you keep an eye on Hicca and make sure she doesn’t fall off a cliff or something?”

“Sure.” Raeda answered.

“I’ll come with you.” Astrid said, getting on Stormfly. The two teens then flew off. They reached the center of the plaza when Astrid spotted a new flower bush. “Look at those flowers! They're beautiful. I wonder who planted those.” Suddenly Hiccup and Toothless flew past her and Stormfly, nearly colliding into them. “Whoa! Hey! What are you doing?!” She demanded as she watched Hiccup and Toothless flying out of control.

“It's not me!” Hiccup exclaimed as he tried to steer Toothless. “Uh, okay, Toothless.”

 _‘Something’s wrong with me! I don’t feel so good.’_ Toothless warbled, hoping his rider would understand.

The male Night Fury lost complete control of his flight, causing him and his rider to fall to the ground. “WHHHOOOOOAAAA!” Hiccup yelled as they descended very rapidly. They crash to the ground, with Hiccup getting launched out of his saddle. He recovered quickly and ran to Toothless. Astrid and Stormfly landed where the boys were and Astrid got off Stormfly to join Hiccup.

“Whew! Toothless, are you okay, bud?” He asked.

 _‘No, not at all. Definitely not okay.’_ Toothless warbled weakly.

“Toothless? It’s like he’s got a cold or something. Do dragons get colds?” Hiccup asked, turning to Astrid. The blonde shield-maiden shrugged, having no idea.

“Hiccup!” Hicca called out as she and Raeda ran to the group. Hiccup looked concerned at his sisters’ worried expression. Whatever is causing this is serious enough to take her attention away from her new medical book.

“Remember when you asked me if I’ve ever seen Midnight sneeze?” Hicca asked. Her brother nodded. “Well, I have, just now. She is sneezing a lot and she doesn’t look so well.”

“Same with Sparkfire.” Raeda added.

Something caught Astrids’ eye “Whoa, look at that.” She said pointing to a Terrible Terror walking dizzily around the plaza before it dropped to the ground. Astrid went to pick up the Terror. “Well, whatever it is, looks like he's got it, too.”

Hiccup and Hicca took Toothless and Midnight home and called Gobber. They told their mentor about the situation and the blacksmith/dragon dentist starting brewing a cold cure (though Hicca seems to have some doubts of the concoction when she saw it being made.)

“This will help them.” Gobber said as soon as his special remedy was made.

“Are you sure?” Hicca asked, still doubtful.

“Of course I’m sure! This recipe has been in my family for generations.” Gobber said.

“What exactly is it?” Hiccup asked, also weary of the remedy.

“That’s not important.” Gobber dismissed. “Just be careful not to touch it.” He placed the cauldron next to Midnight and Toothless and the two Night Furies sniffed it.

 _‘Ugh! Is that supposed to make us feel better or worse?’_ Midnight asked.

 _‘I don’t want to find out.’_ Toothless replied. He then sneezed the concoction all over Gobbers’ clothes.

“Well, that's ruined.” Gobber said as he looked at his clothes in disgust.“I'll never get that yak to vomit again.”

“That’s it! I’m confiscating your rights to make remedies from now on!” Hicca declared. Gobber started protesting, but she dismissed it. “No ‘buts’. Anything with any vomit in it is a clear no-no!”

Just then Astrid and Raeda came in. “Guys, we’ve got a bit of a situation here.” Raeda said.

“You guys gotta see this.” Astrid said, leading them outside.

Hicca, Hiccup and Gobber ran out to see what Astrid and Raeda were talking about. There they saw Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch flying out of control with their riders trying to steer them straight.

“Easy, easy!” Snotlout shouted while steering Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare decided to quit causing the two of them to crash-land.“Whooaaa!”

“Help her, guys! She's sick!” Fishlegs yelled to Hiccup and Hicca as Meatlug started spinning out of control. This caused the Ingerman boy to be dizzy.“Whoa! And I'm about to be!”

“It seems to be an epidemic going on with all dragons.” Hicca said.

Hiccup turned to Gobber. “How do we stop this?” He asked his mentor.

Gobber then got an idea. “Gothi! She'll know what to do!”

They brought Gothi to the Haddock household, where the elderly did a check-up on both Toothless and Midnight. “I've heard Gothi could tell you when you're gonna die, just by looking at your fingernails.” Astrid said nervously to Fishlegs. This caused the blonde boy to cover his hands.

“Ah, that's just an old wives tale.” Gobber informed them, making Fishlegs sigh in relief.“She looks at your tongue.” Fishlegs panicked and immediately covered his mouth.

After the check-up, Gothi threw some bones to the ground and looked at them. She then poured some sand on the ground and used her staff to draw something images. Gobber went to read what she was saying.

“She says they're reacting to something, like they're allergic.” Gobber read.

“Allergic? To what?” Hiccup asked, while comforting Toothless.

“To a moose wearing boots.” Gobber read.“Shouldn't be hard to find.” Gothi hit the blacksmith in the head with her staff, telling him he’s not reading properly.

“Didn't think that was right.” He read the drawings again. “Ah, they're allergic to something new that's just come to the island.” He clarified.“But that still looks like a moose.”

_Whack!_

“Well, there are a lot of new things on the island. Trader Johann was just here.” Astrid pointed out.

“How are we going to narrow it down?” Raeda asked.

Gothi drew something in the sand. “She says to get rid of everything, immediately.” Gobber said.“Otherwise it's just going to get worse. The dragons are going to get sicker.”

Immediately, the group gathered all the villagers and made the announcement. No one was happy over getting rid of their new valuables, but if it would help their dragons then they were ready to do it.

They gathered there valuables and went to an island far away from Berk. There they built a trench and lined up to throw their newly acquired possessions in the trench.

“I know this is hard, guys, but I promise you, you're doing a good thing.” Hiccup said as he and Astrid watched.“You're helping the dragons.”

They have been protecting us, it's the least we can do for them!” Astrid added.

Snotlout took on last sorrowful look at his reflection before he threw the metal dish in. “Goodbye, beautiful.” He said to his reflection.

Raeda went next, placing the chest full of clothes and her new paint set in the trench. As excited as she was to try them out, Sparkfire is far more important to her.

Some people, however, were a bit reluctant to part with their new valuables, like Fishlegs and Hicca.

“What are you two doing?! Throw them in!” Ruffnut said as she watched the two of them speed read through their books.

“I'm sorry! But this botany book is a real page-turner! I gotta know how it ends!” Fishlegs said keeping his eyes on his book.

“I have so many questions, Ruffnut. Questions that need to be answered!” Hicca said as she frantically turned the pages to get the key points.

Not understanding either of her friends values for books, the Thorston girl snatched both books.

“No, Ruffnut!” Fishlegs said.

“Wait!” Hicca pleaded.

But Ruffnut ignored them and threw both book in the ditch, much to both their readers sadness.

“Now I’ll know the cure for vorpentitis.” Hicca said sadly.

Hiccup then noticed Gobber just standing near the ditch. “I don't see you throwing anything in the pile, and I thought I saw you buy something from Trader Johann.” He accused as his mentor tried to deny.

“He did. He bought silk!” Astrid stated.

“Hand it over, Gobber.” Hiccup demanded holding his hand out.

“Can't do that, Hiccup.It's, uh, currently in use.” Gobber said, before he leaned down and whispered to the two teens.“It's my skivvies. They're _glorious_!” The look on Hiccups’ face remained adamant causing the blacksmith to give in. “Fine.” He said. He then went behind a large boulder and a few seconds later, threw out a purple pair of underpants.

“I could have gone my whole life without seeing that.” Hiccup said to Astrid.

After everyone threw their new possessions in the ditch, they decided to head home and let the dragons rest.

The next day at the Haddock Household, Hiccup and Toothless woke up. “Hey! How 'bout we go out flying? Maybe that'll make you feel better.” Hiccup suggested.

Toothless responded with a sneeze, accidently shooting a plasma blast in Hiccups’ direction. Luckily, Hiccup managed to dodge it in time.

It seems that none of the dragons have gotten better.

In the Hofferson Household, Stormfly kept shivering as Astrid tried to comfort her.

“Poor girl. Can't get comfortable, huh?” Astrid said. She then got an idea.“I know what'll help! I'll-” She turned her back on her dragon and got down to pick something, narrowly avoiding the spines, Stormfly accidently shot at her a second later. Astrid got up and looked at her dragon.

 _‘I’m sorry.’_ Stormfly squawked.

“It's okay, Stormfly. I'm a soldier. I've been shot at before.”

In the Henderson Household, Sparkfire was lying down with a large blanket on her with Raeda bringing a bowl of soup. “Here you go girl. Soup always helps me feel better when I’m not feeling well.” Raeda said as she set the bowl near Sparkfire.

The purple Nadder sniffed the soup and was considering drinking it when she accidently sneezed shooting a flame that burned the bowl. Luckily, Raeda managed to back-flip to avoid getting burnt.

“Poor girl.” The raven-haired girl said as she walked to comfort her dragon.

In the Ingerman Household, Fishlegs was massaging Meatlugs feet while telling her a story. “Once upon a time, there was a little princess named Meatlug, the most beautiful dragon in all of the land! People would come from miles around-” He was interrupted when Meatlug farted.

 _‘Sorry, Fishlegs. I was starting to like that story.’_ Meatlug said in her dragon voice.

“No, no, it's okay, girl. It's not that bad.” Fishlegs said, forcing a smile.“Smells just like rose petals and-” The blonde boy couldn’t take the smell anymore and fainted.

Seeing that none of the dragons were feeling better, the teens all gathered at the plaza to discuss why.

“This doesn’t make sense. We got rid of everything from Trader Johann, but out dragons still aren't getting better, they're getting worse!” Fishlegs said.

“Let's-- let's make a list. Maybe there's somebody who bought something from Trader Johann but hasn't thrown it into the pit.” Hiccup guessed.

“You’re right... There must have been somebody who wasn’t willing to give up what they bought.” Astrid agreed.

“Who would be that selfish?” Raeda asked.

“Don’t know, but if I find out who was holding back, I am gonna be so mad! Hookfang was so sick, I was up all night scraping dragon barf off our walls!” Snotlout complained.

“Yeah? Well, ours is dead!” Tuffnut said monotonously as he and his sister looked at Barf and Belch. This revelation caused the other teens to gasp in shock.

“Just kidding.” Tuffnut said quickly.“But, he's really not that fun anymore.”

“He just sits there. He won't blow anything up!” Ruffnut complained.

The other teens rolled their eyes at the blonde teen and just then, a voice called out from above.

“Hiccup! Hicca!” Stoick shouted as he and Thornado landed.“Put this in the Book of Dragons! Never fly on a stomach full of under-cooked mutton. The Shivering Shores will never be the same.” He then noticed the teens’ solemn and serious expressions as he got off Thornado. “What is it, kids? What's wrong?”

“It's the dragons, Dad.” Hiccup explained. “They're, uh...”

“They're sick! And getting worse.” Astrid said.

“Every dragon?” Stoick asked.

“Yeah and we have no idea what’s causing it and without that, we can’t find the cure.” Hicca answered.

Later that night, Toothless and Midnight were in the center of the Haddock Household, still shivering and sneezing.

“Poor guys. What do you two think happened?”

“Ugh, we don't know! Gothi says they're allergic to something new to the island, but we think we've gotten rid of everything.” Hiccup explained.

“But, if the dragons aren't getting better...” Stoick trailed.

“Then there’s something still be here that's making them sick.” Hicca finished.

Suddenly they heard a loud sound from outside. “Thornado?” Stoick wondered, recognizing the sound. The three humans ran outside to where the Thunderdrum was. Thornado gave out another sneeze, causing Stoick to keep his children away from the sonic blast before he checked on his dragon.

“Sneezing! That's the first symptom.” Hiccup stated.

“Fatigue is the second one.” Hicca noted, looking at Thornados’ drowsy state.

“He was fine until we got back!” Stoick said.

“Um, we should retrace your steps.” Hiccup suggested.

They gathered the rest of the dragon riders and informed them of what happened. They went to the Plaza to look for clues.

“Well, this is where I landed.” Stoick said.

“Okay guys spread out and look around for anything unusual.” Hiccup instructed the other teens.

“Do not leave anything out, even if you think it’s unimportant.” Hicca added.

“Does that count?” Fishlegs asked, pointing to the Thorston twins who were head-butting each other.

“I'm seeing stars!” Ruffnut said in a daze.

“No way! Me too!” Tuffnut exclaimed.

“They said something unusual.” Raeda stated.

“Rae is right, there is nothing unusual here.” Astrid said. She then noticed Hiccup looking at something with a frown. “What is it?” She asked.

“Uh, does anybody remember seeing these flowers before?” Hiccup asked walking over to the flower bush behind Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Astrid, Stoick and Fishlegs followed him.

“They were here when I got back.” Stoick answered.

Fishlegs plucked one of the flowers. “It looks an awful lot like the Blue Oleander. I recognize it from my botany book, chapter eight.” He said.

“I-is there anything specific you can remember?” Hiccup asked, starting to have a bad feeling.

“They're very beautiful, very soft, perennial.” Fishlegs said, stroking one of the petals. His eyes then widened as he remembered something else. “And... poisonous to reptiles!”

“Which means poisonous to dragons!” Hiccup concluded, his eyes also widening. Fishlegs immediately threw the flower away. “This is serious. Uh, duh, did your book say anything about a cure?” Hiccup asked the Ingerman boy.

“I don't know. I didn’t get to finish it because somebody made me throw it in a pit!” Fishlegs replied looking at Ruffnut.

“Well, then go back and dig it up!” Hiccup ordered and Fishlegs complied.

“My medical book might have some information about curing poison.” Hicca suggested.

“Then go with him.” Hiccup said and his twin ran to catch up with Fishlegs.

“I don't understand, where did these flowers even come from?” Astrid wondered.

It was Tuffnut who had the answer “Mildew. I saw him plant them the other night.”

“And you didn't think that was strange?” Astrid demanded.

“No.” Tuffnut answered hesitantly.“Well, maybe. I don't know! Quit pressuring me!”

“Ugh! I knew there was something suspicious when I saw Mildew demanding his order from Trader Johann. He must have done some research since he made the order in advance!” Raeda exclaimed.

Thornado give out another sonic sneeze, causing Stoick to duck. “Let's go pay the old man a visit.” The chief said as he, Hiccup, Astrid and Raeda started walking to Mildews’ house.

As soon as they went to Mildews’ house, they went straight to the point and demanded a confession. The old man, however, decided to act innocent. “Well, so what if I planted some flowers? The town square has never looked better. I was merely trying to spread some beauty and happiness.” He said.

“Since when have you cared about beauty or happiness?” Astrid asked.

“That’s right. You live far away from Berk. The only time you do come there is to complain about something.” Raeda pointed out.

“You did this!” Hiccup accused.

“What? Me?! Ha!” Mildew denied. “Well, I had no inkling, Stoick, that these flowers had special properties. Oh, it's true, I'm not friend of the dragons, but in this case, on my life, I was not trying to harm them.”

Realizing that he has no concrete evidence against the old man, Stoick sighed. “Let's go.” He said, taking three very reluctant teens out of the house.

As soon as they left, Mildew tsked. “Ah. The poor, poor dragons.” He sneered in a smug smile.

They went back to the Plaza and rejoined Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Now they could only wait to see if Fishlegs and Hicca found something. The two teens then came running to the group “Hicca! Fishlegs! You two found your books!” Hiccup said, watching the two teens pant.

“Did you guys find anything helpful?” Astrid asked, hoping one of them would say yes.

But Hicca and Fishlegs were focus on regaining there breathing, with the latter more panicked. “Calm down you two! Talk to me.”

“My botany book says that Blue Oleander is poisonous to reptiles! And dragons are reptiles!” Fishlegs stated.

“We know that! Was there anything else?” Hiccup asked.

“It says in my medical book that venom from spiders and snakes can be used as a cure.” Hicca informed.

That’s right and then I remembered the Book of Dragons talked about a dragon that feeds on the Blue Oleander. It's called the Scauldron. In a perfect world, if it eats the flowers, maybe its venom can be used as an antidote. But alas, we do not live in a perfect world.” Fishlegs said sadly. He turned to the page on the Scauldron. “Look! The Scauldron has no venom!”

“No... But it looks cool!” Tuffnut said, looking at the picture of the Scauldron.

“Don't you understand? The Book says no venom!” Fishlegs exclaimed to the Thorston boy.

“Okay, got it! No venom! Golly, write it on your forehead.” Tuffnut said annoyed.

“The Book is wrong!” Gobber declared joining the group. “I've dealt with a Scauldron before. They're sixty feet long, with razor sharp teeth! And they'll shoot boiling water that melts the flesh from your bones! The Scauldron has no fear. No conscience. But what the Scauldron does have is venom! And lots of it!”

“I'm out!” Tuffnut declared walking away.

“I'm with him.” Ruffnut said, joining her twin.

Hiccup then came up with a plan “Alright... You guys stay here and take care of the dragons. You too, sis. They might need you.”

“What are you going to do?” Fishlegs asked.

Hiccup turned to his dad and his mentor. “Dad? Gobber? Let's go find ourselves a Scauldron!”

“I thought you'd never ask!” Gobber said getting excited.

“I’m coming with you guys.” Raeda declared. Hiccup was about to object to that but Raeda cut him off. “No arguments, unless you want to waste a night.” Hiccup sighed and conceded.

Hiccup, Raeda, Stoick and Gobber all went to their own homes to pack up and prepare for the Scauldron hunt.

“Look at that thing...” Hiccup said, looking at the picture of the Scauldron in the Book of Dragons. He looked back at Toothless and Midnight, both dragons feeling even weaker. “You two just hang in there. Hicca will take good care of both of you and I'll be back before you know it.” He said as the two Night Furies decided to take a nap.

Hicca then walked to him. “You guys better be careful, okay? Don’t do anything reckless out there.” She warned.

“You know that can’t be guaranteed, right?” Hiccup asked rhetorically.

Hicca sighed. “I’m afraid yes.” She said.

The auburn twins then gave each other a hug.

Outside their house, Stoick was comforting Thornado. “How's my dragon warrior?” The chief asked. Thornado gave a weak response, barely able to lift his head. Stoick then got a rock and put it under the Thunderdrum, to act as a pillow. “I spent my whole life trying to kill them. Now look at me.” Stoick said to himself.

“Dad, it's time.” Hiccup said as he and his sister came to him.“The boat's ready.” Giving one last look to Thornado, Stoick nodded. He gave Hicca a good hug before he and Hiccup made their way to the docks.

Soon a ship was sent off from the shores of Berk which includes Hiccup, Stoick, Raeda, Gobber, Sven and a very reluctant, angry companion.

“Well, this is an outrage! I dug up all the flowers! I did my part!” Mildew complained.

“Why couldn’t we knock him out cold?” Raeda muttered to Hiccup.

“We're all out here because of you, Mildew. If we all have to put our lives at risk, then so do you!” Stoick said to Mildew.

“You have no proof, Stoick!” Mildew sneered.“You can't blame me every time something goes amiss with your precious dragons.”

The others decided to ignore the old man “Alright, Stoick. What's the plan?” Gobber asked.

“Hiccup, when Gobber and I secure the Scauldron's head, Sven will wedge its jaw open.” Stoick informed. “We'll need you to-”

“Drain the poison into this bucket. Got it.” Hiccup finished.

“And I need to make neither the venom, nor the boiling hot water touches Hiccup.” Raeda added, readying her bow and arrows.

“Let's get started.” Hiccup said as he and Raeda each took a bag full of the Blue Oleander Mildew dug out. They then scattered the flowers in sea surrounding their ship.“This is what Scauldrons eat. It'll draw them to the boat.”

“It’ll be like luring Snotlout with a pile of fake gold.” Raeda said, smiling at the memory.

They then waited for a Scauldron to come by. But hours passed and there was no sign of the sea dragon.

“Looks like the Scauldrons are smarter than Snotlout.” Raeda said as she, Hiccup and Gobber continued looking out in the sea.

“Bah! This is not working! It was a stupid idea to begin with!” Mildew complained walking by. Getting fed up, Raeda and Hiccup were ready to follow him when the chief stopped them. “Easy, you two, that's not why we're here.”

Gobber then saw something in the sea. “But that is.”

Sure enough, the crew spotted a green Scauldron swimming around the ship.

“Scauldron!” Stoick said, now on high alert. Suddenly the Scauldron rose its’ head above the water, looking at each crew member dead in the eyes.

“Woah.” Raeda said in a whispered tone.

“I may need to change my skivvies again.” Gobber said.

“We need to lure the Scauldron on deck!” Hiccup ordered. Raeda snapped out of her daze state and helped Hiccup scatter some Blue Oleander on deck.

“Oh, that's great. Get it on the ship where it can have at us all!” Mildew said.

“Hopefully, it will take you first.” Raeda muttered.

“Gobber! Secure its neck with this! I'll lasso his horn!” Stoick yelled, throwing his friend a rope. But just as they were about to get to the Scauldron, the sea dragon went back in the water.

“Where did it go?” Gobber asked.

“I have a feeling we’re about to find out.” Raeda answered, getting worried.

Suddenly, the oar that Sven was holding was taken from his hands a dragged a good distance away from the ship with the top part sticking out of the water. It then stopped and disappeared from view and a second later, a strong force of water came right in the ships direction! “HANG ON, EVERYBODY!” Gobber shouted, just before the Scauldron rammed right into their ship. The Scauldron then climbed aboard the ship and started eating the Oleanders on deck, causing the ship to tilt upwards like a seesaw.

“HICCUP!” Stoick shouted as he watch his son sliding downwards, towards the Scauldron.

“Gotcha!” Raeda said, grabbing onto Hiccups’ hand. She took an arrow from her quiver and stuck it on the deck, giving her something to hang on to.

Stoick then noticed the Scauldron distracted by the Oleanders “Gobber! Here's our chance!” Stoick shouted. He and Gobber then slid down towards the Scauldron, right when it was about to go back into the water. They then grabbed onto their ropes and used it to lasso the Scauldron, pulling as hard as they could to keep the sea dragon from retreating.“We can't let the dragon get back into the water!” Stoick exclaimed.

“He's a strong one!” Gobber grunted.

“Sven! We need that barrel now!” Stoick ordered. Immediately, Sven brought the barrel.

“I've got the bucket!” Hiccup exclaimer, holding a bucket with a cloth covering it.

“I’ve got my weapon!” Raeda said, getting ready to shoot the Scauldron if necessary.

“Careful, son! You don't want to get that venom in you!” Stoick warned, still holding on his rope.

“Yes, I know, Dad! I'll be dead in twenty-four hours!” Hiccup said.

Sven threw the barrel at the Scauldrons’ mouth, keeping it wedged open. “Ha-ha!” The Viking said in triumph. But his triumph was short lived as the Scauldron crushed the barrel with its sharp teeth.

“Maybe we should have taken that fact into account when we made the plan.” Raeda said keeping her arrow aimed at the Scauldron.

Stoick then saw the Scauldrons’ tail coming out of the water and heading for Sven. “Sven! Look out!” He tried to warn, but to no avail as Sven was suddenly knocked off the ship and into the water. Unbeknownst to Hiccup who kept his eyes on the Scauldrons’ head, the tail then aimed for him.

Stoick saw that as well. “Hiccup, behind you!” This time, the chief let go of his rope and ran to Hiccup, he grabbed the tail just before it could hit Hiccup. Angered, the Scauldron lifted his tail, taking the chief with him and tried to shake him off.

“Dad!” Hiccup yelled, concerned.

The Scauldron then slammed Stoick into the mast of the ship, but the Berkian chief managed to hang on to the mast, pinning the Scauldrons’ tail. “Daah! I got his tail!” He shouted.

“Hiccup, Raeda, grab your Stoicks’ line!” Gobber shouted, still holding onto his.

The two teens grabbed the rope, and pulled as hard as they could. “Got it!” Hiccup shouted.

“Pull him in! Use the mast to winch his jaw open!” Stoick shouted, struggling to keep the tail pinned.

The teens and Gobber followed their orders and pulled with their full strength, wedging the Scauldrons’ mouth between the mast, right where Mildew decided to hide behind from the Scauldron, causing the old man to be between two sets of teeth.

“Mildew! Grab the bucket!” Stoick ordered.

“HOLD ON! It's one thing for me to-” Mildew tried to protest.

But Stoick was hearing none of it. “Grab the bucket or I'll throw you overboard myself!” He roared. Reluctantly and terrified, Mildew decided to comply. He grabbed the bucket that was in front of him but hesitated. The hesitation was all the Scauldron needed to prepare its’ boiling hot water.

Stoick noticed it “Everyone take cover!”

Mildew immediately got up from where he was sitting and ran to the other side of the ship and behind a crate.

“Gobber!” Hiccup yelled.

“The shield!” Raeda said, referring to the lone shield between them. The three of them, immediately let go of their ropes and ran towards the shield. Gobber picked up the shield and held it in front of him, Hiccup and Raeda and just in time as the Scauldron sprayed its water right at them.

Stoick lost his grip on the mast, allowing the Scauldron to drag the chief into the sea.

“Dad!” Hiccup yelled, running to the side of the boat, hoping to find some sign of his dad.

Mildew was still hiding behind the crate in fear until he saw the Scauldron looking at him. Frightened he tried to run to the other side of the ship, but unbeknownst to him there was lone Blue Oleander on his rear. The Scauldron saw it and ate, biting Mildew in the process. “AHHH!”

The Scauldron then threw Stoick back onto the ship with his tail and swam away from the ship.

“He's gone.” Hiccup said watching the Scauldron disappear from sight.

“And you can bet the last place he's coming back to is this ship.” Gobber stated.

“We didn't get the venom.” Stoick said in dismay.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that.” Raeda said smiling. The guys give her questioning looks and the Henderson girl simply pointed to Mildew, who was lying down face first in pain.

Hiccup smiled when he remembered that the Scauldron bit Mildew before it left. “She’s right, we do have the venom.”

“Get this poison out of me!” Mildew demanded.

“Oh, we will.” Hiccup said.

They managed to retrieve Sven from the sea and set a course back to Berk. As soon as they came to the docks, Gobber and Stoick took Mildew to the forge, while Hiccup and Raeda gathered the other teens and updated them on what happened. The teens then waited outside the forge, except for Hicca, who was inside learning the method to extract poison.

“Can you believe we're all just standing around, waiting for something to come out of Mildew's butt?” Tuffnut commented.

“I would be so disturbed by that comment if I wasn’t sure that I was going to enjoy this moment.” Raeda said.

“No-no-no! W-w-wait-wait-wait! Isn't there something a little smaller you could use?” Mildew pleaded when he saw what Gobber was going to use to extract the poison.

“Probably.” Gobber replied shrugging. He then began to extract the poison.

Outside the teens could hear Mildews’ screams. “That's the sound of our dragons getting better.” Astrid said happily.

“That’s also the sound of sweet revenge.” Raeda said, equally happy.

Gobber then came out of the forge with a bottle in his hands, looking traumatized. “I've seen a Nadder's spine slice through a man's eyeball like a grape. I've watched my own arm get devoured by a Monstrous Nightmare. But never, _NEVER_ , have I seen anything so disturbing... as that old man's bare behind!” He said shuddering. He handed the bottle to Hiccup. “Here. Take this to your dragons. I'm going to the forest to scream.”

“Way to take one for the team, Gobber.” Hiccup said watching his mentor walk away. Hicca then came out of the forge, writing something in her notebook.

“You seem awfully calm right now, sis. Didn’t you see the procedure?” Hiccup asked.

“Oh I definitely saw it and its’ definitely going to haunt my dreams for a while.” Hicca stated, still calm. “On the plus side, I now know how to extract poison.”

The teens then divided the cure and gave it out to all the dragons on the island.

In the Haddock household, Hicca and Hiccup sat with Midnight and Toothless, waiting for the effects of the cure to kick in. Their dad was standing at the doorframe, anxiety written all over his face.

“Relax, Dad. It's gonna be fine.” Hiccup assured.

“They just need some time.” Hicca said.

Stoick decided to go and pace outside. A few minutes later, Hiccup and Hicca came running towards him with their dragons as healthy as ever.

“Dad! Great news!” Hicca exclaimed.

“They're coming around!” Hiccup announced.

Stoick turned and saw Thornado also good as new. “Ha-ha! Thornado!”

The next day was better for everyone as all the dragons were better and flying high in the sky. Having borrowed some ink from Raeda, Hiccup was able to finish his drawing of Toothless. He then looked out the window and saw the other teens flying outside. His sister came to his window.

“Come on, bro. We’re going out flying.” Hicca said and Midnight warbled in agreement.

Hiccup smiled and got on Toothless. The four of them then flew to join the others.

**_A deadly flower, a venomous sea dragon, and Mildew's butt. Three things Hicca and I never really thought we'd have to deal with in the same day. But we'll do anything for our dragons._ **


	11. Heather Report I

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 11: Heather Report I**

 

Up in the sky, Hiccup and Toothless were soaring at top speed as they made sharp turns around the island of Berk. “Yeah! Come on, bud! Here we go, buddy! Come on, Toothless! Yeah!” Hiccup cheered as they raced at their fastest.

Their flight was being monitored by the rest of the dragon riders on foot. “Here they come!” Astrid said to Fishlegs, Fishlegs, who was timing Hiccup and Toothless’ flight, marked the sundial in front of him.

“Let's go!” Hiccup shouted as they nearly finished their course.

“Please be slower, please be slower.” Hicca muttered, not wanting her brother and his dragon to be faster than her and Midnight. The female Night Fury was in agreement.

 _‘If they beat our time, I’m not going to hear the end of it.’_ Midnight warbled.

“Yep! It's a new course record for him.” Fishlegs noted.

Hiccup and Toothless finished their course and landed in the Academy. They looked at Fishlegs, awaiting the result.

“So? How'd we do?” Hiccup asked.

“Technically you're both still tied with Hicca and Midnight as the two fastest, but someone, and I won't mention who, is gaining significant ground.” Fishlegs informed them.

The auburn haired twins were surprised by this.

“What?”

“Who?”

They turned to the Thorston twins, who were busy fighting each other again. They paused when they noticed the Haddock twins staring at them. “Not us!” Tuffnut said, before he continued fighting his sister.

Hiccup and Hicca then looked at their best human friend, Raeda. “Nope, still the fourth fastest.” She admitted.

That left them with the only other person present in the Academy; Astrid. The smug look on the blonde girls’ face confirmed their suspicions.

“Should have known.” Hicca said.

“How can that be? How can Toothless and Midnight be getting slower?” Hiccup asked, turning to Fishlegs.

“They’re not. Stormfly's getting _faster_.” He answered.

“Oh, really?” Hiccup said, turning back to Astrid. “Is that so? Anything you'd like to share, Astrid?”

“Especially to your fellow Nadder rider.” Raeda said.

“Let's just say I'm experimenting with what she eats. Apparently, it's working. And making you mad.” Astrid explained, gesturing to Hiccup. Stormfly let out a burp.

“Looks like we’re getting another competitor.” Hicca said.

“And it looks like I need to start experimenting with Sparkfires’ diet.” Raeda said.

Suddenly, Snotlout and Hookfang flew into the Academy. “Whoo! Ha-ha! Whoo!” Snotlout shouted in excitement. “You will not believe what I just found!”

Tuffnut and Ruffnut started guessing.

“A severed head?”

“Our cousin, Lars?”

“Our cousin Lars' severed head?”

“Lars died?” Fishlegs asked in shock.

“Who said that?!” Tuffnut said, forgetting his previous guess.

“Um, hello? Do you guys want to see this, or not?” Snotlout asked.

The other teens got on their dragons and followed the Jorgenson boy to the beach where they saw a wrecked, upturned boat.

“Huh. A wrecked boat on Berk? Yeah, there's something new.” Tuffnut said sarcastically, not interested in Snotlouts’ new discovery. But Snotlout still guided them to what was underneath the boat.

“Just remember, I saw it first, so it's mine.” Snotlout reminded them. They looked inside and saw that there was an unconscious, raven-haired girl around the same age as the teens, in the boat.

“Whoa! Now I like the boat.” Tuffnut said in a daze.

“Remember, I get to keep her!” Snotlout said.

“Snotlout, it's a person!” Astrid said in disbelief.

“Right?! How lucky is that?” Snotlout said excitedly.

“You and I are going to be having a talk when we get back to Berk.” Raeda said sternly.

Hiccup crawled underneath the passage of the boat, trying gently to wake up the mysterious girl, who seemed to be regaining consciousness. “Eh, hey. Hey there.” The girls’ green eyes shot open as she took in her surroundings. She immediately moved back in fear.

“It's okay. We're friends.” Hiccup reassured her.

“D-Do you have any water?” She asked in a raspy voice.

As soon as she said that, Hicca, Raeda, Astrid, Ruffnut and Hiccup moved out of the way as Snotlout, Fishlegs and Tuffnut each held a mug of water, shoving each other out of the way to offer the water to the girl.

“Allow me.” Snotlout said, holding his mug to her. Heather took it gratefully and drank it.

“Thank you.” She said, giving the mug back. “Where am I?”

“This is Berk.” Hiccup answered. Toothless then stuck his head in the boat, curious to see the new girl. Clearly frightened of the dragon, the girl moved back.

“Uh, do-don't be scared of him! He’s friendly. He won't hurt you.” Hiccup said reassuringly as he tried to get Toothless to back away. “Hey. Come out. It's okay.” Slowly and cautiously she came out and the others moved back to give her space.

“Easy, bud. Give her some space.” Hiccup said, as he moved his dragon back and made him sit.

“How did you do that?” The girl asked in awe.

Snotlout was starting to get jealous of the attention his cousin was getting from the new girl. “That? That was just an amateur trick. Watch _this_.” He bragged. He then turned to Hookfang. “Hookfang, get your butt over here!”

 _‘Uh, how about...NO!’_ The Monstrous Nightmare snorted. He decided to do the opposite and flew off without hesitation. “Heh heh heh. He'll be back. Jokester.” Snotlout lied to cover his embarrassment. “Oh! And just so you know, I'm the one who rescued you.”

“And I would be Hiccup.” Hiccup said, walking up to her.

“And I’m Hicca. As you can see, Hiccups’ twin.” Hicca said.

“Heather.” The girl said, introducing herself.

“So, Heather... What happened to you?” Astrid asked.

Heathers became upset. “My family and I were on our way home to our island when our boat was attacked by pirates.” Raeda was about to give her a sympathetic look when she suddenly frowned.

“I wanna be a pirate!” Tuffnut interjected. The others, especially Raeda, looked at him with expressions of shock and disbelief. “Or maybe a fish cleaner. Or maybe both. Ugh, I can’t decide.” He said. The others turned their attention back to Heather, deciding to let Tuffnut be Tuffnut.

“Ehem! You were saying?” Astrid asked, wanting Heather to continue.

“They attacked our boat and took us back to our island, laying siege to it. I was able to escape, but my mother and father, they weren't so lucky.” She said sadly.

“Stupid pirates! I'm definitely gonna be a fish cleaner!” Tuffnut said.

“It took you _that_ to come up with that decision.” Hicca asked the blonde male twin.

Hiccup turned to Heather. “Hey, everything's gonna be okay. Hicca and my dad's the Chief. We'll figure something out.” He said.

“Yeah, you’re also welcome to stay at our house.” Hicca added. Heather gave the Haddock twins a grateful smile and went with the teens as they got on their dragons. Only Astrid and Raeda stayed back. The former because she decided to check the upturned boat out of curiosity and the latter because she was looking at Heather, feeling that something was off about that girl.

After Astrid finished looking at the boat, she got up and noticed that the Henderson girl hadn’t gone to her dragon yet.

“Hey, Rae.” Astrid said, getting Raedas’ attention. “Is something wrong?”

“Um, no. Not at all.” Raeda said, before she and Astrid joined the others. Heather got on Toothless’ saddle behind Hiccup.

‘Why does she have to ride with Hiccup? Why couldn’t she ride with someone else? There are five other dragons to choose from.’ She thought. She then shook her head. “Hey, don't forget we're meeting tomorrow to work on our times. Unless you want Stormfly to be the fast one in the Book of Dragons.” She casually said to Hiccup, trying not to show signs of jealousy in her voice.

Thankfully, there wasn’t any. “Yeah, that's definitely not gonna happen. We will be there.” Hiccup replied. He then turned to Heather. “Okay?” He asked. Heather nodded in response. He then gave a nudge to Toothless and they flew off.

“Whoa!” Heather said, trying to hang on tight. The other dragon riders followed them, except for one.

“Uh, can I get a ride from someone...?” Snotlout called out. Seeing the others disappeared, the Jorgenson boy grumbled as he began his long, long walk back to Berk.

When Hicca and Hiccup reached their house, they took Heather to meet their dad and told him about her situation. The chief welcomed the newcomer to Berk and their home and it was decided that she will sleep in Hiccups’ room while Hiccup and Toothless sleep in the living room downstairs. “Alright, just this way. Watch your step. And, here we are.” Hiccup said as he and his sister guided Heather to his room.

“It was nice of your father to let me stay here.” Heather said.

“Well, until we can find you a safe place to go, consider Berk your home.” Hiccup said.

“And consider us your new friends.” Hicca added.

Heather looked around Hiccups’ room and saw his designs for a saddle “Wow! What are these? They're really cool!”

“A new saddle for Toothless. We're trying to get some extra speed so we can stay on top of Astrid and Stormfly. Astrid's very competitive.” Hiccup explained.

“For Hiccups’ safety, don’t tell Astrid he said that.” Hicca said.

“Okay, so, uh, do you need anything? Some warm yak milk? A nice fish stew?” Hiccup offered.

“No. But thank you both. I'm just really tired. It's been a long day.” Heather said yawning.

The twins took this as their cue to leave. “Right! Okay, uh, we’ll let you rest. Come on, Toothless. We're sleeping downstairs.” Hiccup said to his dragon, who was also in the room.

“Oh, and we know what it’s like to have crossed paths with pirates. So if you need someone to talk to, we’re here.” Hicca offered. Heather nodded and the twins and Toothless walked out the room.

“Hey, Hiccup? Hicca?” Heather called to the twins before they left.

“Yes?” The twins replied.

“Thanks.” Heather said.

The twins smiled at her.

“Sleep well, Heather.”

“Good night, Heather.”

The Haddock twins went to sleep. Little did they knew that if they had stayed awake and snuck to Stormflys’ stable, they would have discovered what Astrid gives to her dragon to make her faster.

“That's it, girl. Finish up your chicken.” Astrid said, pushing the barrel of chicken to Stormfly. “By the time Hiccup and Hicca figure out _this_ is what's giving you all that energy, they'll both be eating our dust!” Stormfly eagerly ate her food, but her ears perked up and she suddenly became on high alert, alerting Astrid. “What is it, girl?” Astrid then noticed a figure running in the distance. “You stay here.” She said to Stormfly, before she went to follow the figure. “Hey!” The figure didn’t seem to hear Astrid and kept running. Astrid got a closer look and discovered who it was. “Heather?” The blonde shield maiden watched as Heather quickly and quietly made her way back to the Haddock household.

Astrid is starting to get suspicious of Heather.

The next day Hiccup and Toothless were at the forge, the former was working on improving the latters’ flight speed before they have to meet with Astrid and Stormfly.

“You're up early.” Heather said as she walked up to the forge.

“Yeah, Hicca is usually the twin that gets up early, but I just wanted to get the jump on this.” He explained, gesturing to the prosthetic tailfin.

Heather walked closer and observed the prosthetic. “You know, with a shorter connecting rod, it'll push you back in the saddle and make you more streamlined.”

Hiccup saw where she was going with this. “Which will increase our speed!” He finished excitedly, pulling a connecting rod out of the furnace. He then turned to Toothless. “Yeah! Oh, you hear that, bud? Stormfly's gonna be seeing a lot more of your tail.” The male Night Fury warbled in excitement.

 _‘Yay! Then I’ll be faster than both Stormfly and Midnight!’_ Toothless warbled excitedly.

“So, when can we test it out?” Heather asked.

“How about right now?” Hiccup suggested. They both got on Toothless and flew off.

Unfortunately Hiccup seemed to have forgotten something.

On one of the sea stacks, Astrid and Stormfly were waiting for Hiccup and Toothless so that they could go on their flight race. Astrid was getting impatient until she saw Hiccup flying with Toothless and another familiar passenger...

“Whoo! Yeah!” Heather yelled in joy as they soared into the air, oblivious to a fuming blonde who was watching them.

“You have got to be kidding me.” She muttered. Realizing that their plan is cancelled, Astrid got on Stormfly and flew to join the others in the Academy.

In the Berk Academy the rest of the dragon riders were with their dragons waiting for their exercise to begin. Raeda was laying on Sparkfire working on another sketch while Hicca was with Midnight reading her healers book. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were lying comfortably on Barf and Belch, who laid on the floor.

Fishlegs was giving Meatlug a good scrub behind the ears. “Oh, ho! She loves getting her ears cleaned! I know just the right spot.”

Snotlout was busy trying to calm down his agitated dragon. “Hookfang! Will you just calm down?” Frustrated, he turned to Hicca. “Are we training, or not?”

“Not until Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless and Stormfly come.” Hicca answered, looking up from her book.

“We’re here.” Astrid said as she and Stormfly flew in.

Raeda put her sketchbook down and immediately went to Astrid as she got off Stormfly. “Good, you’re back. You need to settle a bet between me and Hicca; who won the race, you or Hiccup?”

“Obviously Hiccup. Even with the special diet, Stormfly couldn’t beat Toothless.” Hicca spoke up.

“We didn’t have the race.” Astrid said bitterly.

“Hey, where's Hiccup?” Fishlegs asked, noticing that Hiccas’ twin is missing.

“Giving a private lesson.” Astrid said with the same bitterness. She gestured to the sky where Hiccup and Heather where still flying on Toothless.

“I didn't know he gave private lessons! Can anybody get in on that?” Fishlegs asked excitedly, not detecting the bitterness and the tension.

“Uh, Fishlegs...” Hicca said, trying to warn him.

“Apparently, just her.” Astrid said, referring to Heather.

“Uh-oh! Looks like there's another hen in the rooster house.” Ruffnut taunted.

“Uh-oh. Yeah. Another rooster in the hen house.” Tuffnut tried to repeat. He then got confused. “Wait, what?”

“Nothing. She thinks I'm jealous, which is completely ridiculous. And completely wrong.” Astrid said.

“Oh, right, right.” Tuffnut said. He got confused again. “Wait. Of who? Me? Wait, am I the rooster, or the hen?”

Astrid rolled her eyes. “Trust me. The last thing I am is jealous.”

Hicca and Raeda exchanged a nervous glance, having a bad feeling about what’s going to happen.

Hiccup, Heather and Toothless flew into the Academy.

“Top 'o the morning, class!” Hiccup greeted, unaware of the tension. “How's everyone doing today?”

“Oh! Nice of you to show up.” Astrid said sarcastically.

Noticing her brothers’ confused expression, Hicca spoke up. “Did you forget something, bro?” She asked, hoping he would take the hint.

“What?” Hiccup asked. He then realized the answer and slapped his forehead. “Oh, we were supposed to meet up. I'm so sorry.”

“ _Awkward!_ ” Snotlout said in a sing-song voice. He quickly dived as an arrow was shot in his direction. (Guess who was responsible for that.)

Tuffnut finally understood what his sister and Astrid meant. “Oh, Astrid's jealous of the pretty one, right? Why talk about hens and roosters?”

Astrid ignored him and turned to Heather. “So, Heather? Sleep well?” She asked innocently.

“Very well. Thank you, Astrid.” Heather answered with the same innocence.

“Really? No problems at night or anything?” Raeda asked, walking up to her.

Heather shook her head in response and looked around the Academy. “So... This is it? Your Dragon Training Academy.”

“No. Our Dragon Training Academy.” Tuffnut spoke up trying to get Heathers’ attention. “Remember, I called you the pretty one.”

“We've been training the dragons to become part of our everyday lives.” Hiccup explained.

“And it all goes right in here.” Fishlegs said, holding up the Book of Dragons.

“Really? Everything?” Heather asked, too curious for Astrids’ liking.

“Mmm, yep. I'm kind of the Log Keeper. Log Master, really.” Fishlegs bragged.

“He writes down what Hiccup and Hicca tells him to.” Snotlout said.

“I give it my own spin, thank you.” Fishlegs defended.

“This is going to be interesting.” Hicca whispered to Raeda, who nodded in agreement.

“I feel like getting something to eat while watching this.” Raeda whispered back.

“Can I see it?” Heather asked.

Fishlegs was about to give her the book when Astrid suddenly snatched it out of his hands.

“I'll take that, thank you.” She said. She then grabbed Hiccup by the arm and motioned to Hicca to follow them. “Excuse us.” She brought the Haddock twins to the other side of the Academy before she spoke up. “Hiccup, Hicca, I don't think we should be showing her all our dragon secrets.”

Hiccup brushed it off “Astrid, it's fine.”

“She’s just curious, like everyone other outsider who visits Berk.” Hicca added.

That didn’t satisfy Astrid “I just don't trust her. You two shouldn't either.”

“Well, we do and you should trust us.” Hiccup said before walking off.

Astrid turned to Hicca, hoping she would listen. “She hasn’t done anything wrong, Astrid. You should give her a chance.” She then walked off to join the group when Raeda stopped her.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Hicca?” The raven-haired girl asked.

“Sure.” Hicca answered.

“Is Heather really fine. I mean with what happened with her encounter with the pirates did she gave signs of post traumatic stress disorder?”

“No, not any visible signs at least. Maybe she is a suffer-in-silence type.” Hicca suggested.

Raeda raised her eyebrows “I’m a suffer-in-silence type. And you remember how I handle the trauma the first time.”

“Well, people have different ways of coping with trauma. Who knows?” Hicca shrugged as she walked off. Raeda still didn’t seem convinced.

After training Heather went to Fishlegs and Meatlug. “So, Mr. Fishlegs, ‘Log Master of the Book of Dragons’-- I can call you that, can't I?” She asked sweetly.

“Absolutely.” Fishlegs answered eagerly.

“Tell me, what would one find in the Book of Dragons about the... Magnificent Gronckle?” Heather asked.

“Well, the Gronckle is a member of the Boulder Class of dragons. Fourteen feet long, eighteen foot wingspan, five thousand seven hundred and twenty-four pounds of pure love.” Fishlegs stated, hugging Meatlug.

“She's so cute! But how does she perform in battle?”

“Well, feel her skin.” Heather did as told. “It's thick. Impenetrable. Like armour.” Fishlegs then picked up a pebble and threw it at his dragon. The pebble bounced back and hit Fishlegs in the face! “AH! It's also quite springy.” He said, rubbing his face.

“What about her tail? It looks like it could be a weapon.” Heather asked, looking at Meatlugs’ tail.

“Oh, it is. Tough, bulbous, deadly. It can even be used as a bludgeon.” Fishlegs answered.

“Oooh! She sounds so fierce.”

“Oh, she's fierce alright-- on the outside. But on the inside, she's as soft as a bed of rose petals. Aren't you my little baby?” Fishlegs said, cuddling his dragon.

Later on, Heather was at the docks with Tuffnut, Barf and Belch. Heather was sitting on Barfs’ head while Tuffnut sat on his dragons’ head.

“So, Tuff, tell me how this works again?” Heather asked.

“Okay, you yank on his head, he barfs up this really nasty gas, and I spark it. But, don't breathe it in.” Tuffnut warned.

“Why not?”

“You don't want to know. Just give me the signal.”

“What's the signal?”

“Ah... man, I always forget that.” Tuffnut said, smacking his forehead.

“How 'bout: fire?” Heather suggested.

“Wow, you're really good at this. Much better than my sister, who I can easily get rid of, by the way. I mean, easily. She looks a lot like me. Sometimes I impersonate both of us.” Tuffnut said.

“Yeah. Why don't we focus on the task at hand?” Heather suggested.

“Right. Okay. Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Signal! Ugh, darn-- I mean, FIRE!” At that Heather yanked Barfs’ head, letting out the gas and Tuffnut yanked Belchs’ head, igniting the gas. The result set fire to a nearby ship.

“What do we do now?” Heather asked, worried about getting in trouble.

“Usually we hide... until the Chief finds us. Then we get in trouble.” Tuffnut said, as he lowered Belchs’ head. Heather followed.

As soon as her session with Tuffnut was over, Heather went to Snotlout and Hookfang.

“I have to say Snotlout; your dragon really is the most impressive.” Heather praised.

That was exactly what Snotlout had wanted to hear as he stood proudly. “Yeah, I know. So, let's talk about you and me. You never did get to thank me for saving your life.”

“You're right. Thank you, Snotlout.” Heather said with no hint of sarcasm in her voice. “So, how much does he weigh exactly?”

“Well, him? Five thousand pounds give or take. He's monstrous. Remember? Sort of like his Rider so... heh.” Snotlout bragged. “Tour of the island, you and me, what do you say?”

“Actually, Hiccup took me on Toothless. It was beautiful.” Heather said, to Snotlouts’ disappointment. “So, Snotlout, how does this whole fire-thing work with Hookfang?”

“It's his spit. It coats his whole body.” Snotlout explained. “That's what lights him on fire, okay? Between you and me? I use it on date-night. The ladies seem to love the smell.” He said, rubbing some of the saliva on himself.

“Can he flame up on command?”

“Oh, he can. But he won't. Pig-headed dragon.”

 _‘Who are you calling a pig-headed dragon, you pig-headed viking!’_ Offended by this comment, Hookfang blast a line of fire, right behind Snotlout! Heather gasped. “Could you give me a minute?” Snotlout asked calmly, before he ran to look for a trough full of water. “Just one minute!”

“Take as much time as you need!” Heather called to him.

At the Haddock household, Hiccup was working on Toothless’ saddle while Hicca and Midnight were at the forge. “There we go, bud. Oh, that's gonna work perfectly.” What Hiccup didn’t notice was that Heather was watching before going to his room. She then looked around the room as if she was searching for something. She looked under the bed and found what she was looking for; the Book of Dragons.

“Gotcha. The Book of Dragons.” She pulled the book out and started reading. “Monstrous Nightmare... the Gronckle... here we go.” She muttered as she read through the pages. Her eyes stopped at one chapter “The Deadly Nadder. Piercing spines, loyal, powerful...”

“Intelligent, and, of course, deadly.” A voice from behind her said. Startled, Heather turned around and saw Astrid right behind her, not so happy. “What do you think you're doing?”

Astrid had gotten Hiccup and Hicca and told them what happened. “Well, are either you gonna say something?”

“I am so, so sorry, guys.” Heather apologised. “I was cleaning up Hiccups’ room and I-I found the book. I couldn't help myself.”

To Astrids’ disappointment the twins didn’t give the reaction she was hoping for. “You don’t have to apologise Heather. It’s not a crime to read a book.” Hicca said.

“Yeah, it's okay, Heather.” Hiccup reassured.

“It's okay? What do you mean ‘okay’? She's reading the Book of Dragons.” She pointed out.

“So? Do you know how many times I went to Gothis’ house and just pick up a book to read without asking. Like I said, it’s not a crime.” Hicca stated.

Hiccup agreed with his sister. “Astrid, come on. Lighten up.”

“Me?” Astrid asked incredulously. “She's the one sneaking around! Looking at... our stuff!”

“Really? Sneaking around? Wha-what are you talking about?” Hiccup asked.

“I'm talking about last night. Near my house.” Astrid said.

“That was me. I couldn't sleep so... I went for a walk. I was having terrible nightmares.” Heather explained.

“I can imagine.” Hiccup said as he and Hicca sympathised with Heather.”

“Is this really happening?” Astrid asked in disbelief.

“Astrid, what is so bad about walking around at night? Hiccup and I both do that sometimes.” Hicca said.

“She’s not just walking, she’s sneaking around!”

“Okay, Astrid, that's enough.” Hiccup said sternly.

“You're right, Hiccup. _It is._ ” Astrid said storming off.

Hiccup turned to Heather. “We’re sorry about that.”

“No. I'm sorry. I was wrong to look at your book.” Heather said.

“It's no big deal. We trust you.” Hiccup said and his sister nodded in agreement.

Later on, Stormfly was about to sleep in her stable when she heard someone approaching.

“Approach the Deadly Nadder slowly.” Heather whispered to herself as she slowly and carefully approached the Nadder. Alert the blue Nadder raised her spine filled tail, prepared to shoot the spines. “Spines. Just like the book said.” Heather noted nervously. She walked in front of Stormflys’ snout so that the Nadder won’t see her. “Stay in the blind spot...” She looked at the nearby basket full of chicken and took a piece out. “I hear you like that.” She gave the chicken to Stormfly, who ate it instantly.

“What are you doing with my dragon?!” Astrid called from behind, making Heather turn around to face the Hofferson girl.

“Huh. You really like to sneak up on people.” Heather said innocently.

“Only the ones who deserve it. And don't give me your innocent routine.” Astrid said, folding her arms.

She wasn’t surprised at all of Heathers’ reaction. “I wouldn't think of it. You're way too smart for that, Astrid.” The raven haired girl smirked. Stormfly nuzzled her new friend to thank her for the chicken. “I think your dragon likes me. See you later, Stormfly.”

Trying to surpress the urge to kill Heather, Astrid turned to her dragon. “Really? Where's the loyalty?”

 _‘Sorry, but she seemed really nice.’_ Stormfly squawked.

Annoyed by the situation, Astrid got her axe and headed to the forest.

Meanwhile, Heather was trying to find the Book of Dragons in Hiccups’ room but couldn’t seem to find it. “No, no, no!” She decided to ask one of the auburn-haired twins where it was when she stopped and saw Hiccup giving said book to his sister before she left. “Great. Now what?”

Back in the forest, Astrid was furiously throwing her axe at the nearby trees, venting out her anger. She got her axe and was about to throw it again when she saw that someone joined her.

“Raeda? What are you doing here?”

“Well, I saw you storming off with your axe and I knew that Astrid plus anger plus axe is not a good thing, so I followed you to make sure you don’t do anything reckless.” Raeda calmly explained. “So what’s wrong?”

“Heather!” Astrid said, gritting her teeth. “’I think your dragon likes me.’” She mocked.

“So you’re mad at her because she befriended Stormfly?” Raeda asked confused.

“She is up to something! I know she is and I am going to find out what!” Astrid exclaimed, determination filling her eyes. “And I know what you’re thinking, I’m not jealous!”

Raeda listened to everything Astrid said. “No, you do not know what I’m thinking of, because I believe you.”

Astrid was surprised by that. “You do?”

Raeda nodded her head. “It’s just a feeling, but whenever she talks about her past with the pirates and what happened to her parents, the look in her eyes seems just too....calm. We need to keep an eye on her.”

Astrid was in agreement “No one messes with us and our friends!”

Both girls froze when they heard a noise in the distance. They looked and saw a familiar figure sneaking around in the forest. “Heather.” Raeda whispered. Astrid immediately shushed her and gestured to her to follow. They were finally going to get some answers.

They followed closely behind Heather, doing their best to make sure that the green-eyed girl doesn’t spot them. Unaware that she was being followed, Heather continued on her path until she reached a beach. She sat on a log and stared at the ocean while Raeda and Astrid watched her from a boulder.

“Maybe, I was wrong. This could be Heathers’ way of grieving with the trauma.” Raeda whispered to Astrid.

Astrid agreed with her. “This was stupid.” She was about to leave with Raeda when she saw something that made her stop herself and Raeda. “Wait...” They both looked and saw a small boat approaching. But the symbol on the sail told them that it wasn’t an ordinary boat.

“Please don’t tell me that that’s what I think it is.” Raeda whispered as her eyes widened.

Astrid wished she could deny it as well but they both they knew they couldn’t. “That's an Outcast boat!”

And sure enough, a familiar man walked out of the boat and walked to Heather. “Savage...” Astrid hissed, narrowing her eyes. She held her axe while Raeda got her bow and arrows ready.

“What have you learned about the dragons?” Savage asked Heather.

“I've learned a lot, Savage. But there's something else. Something that's going to make Alvin very happy.” Heather explained.

“I'm listening.”

“They have a book. A Book of Dragons. It's got everything in it. Everything Alvin could hope to learn about controlling dragons.” Heather said. Astrid and Raeda could not believe what they were hearing. They were right! But right now they really wished they weren’t.

“Where is this book?” Savage demanded.

“I don't have it.” Heather admitted. “But, I will! I promise. I just, I just need a little more time.”

“Alvin isn't known for his patience! He won't be happy having to wait.” Savage pointed out.

“Please! You have to trust me! When I get back to Outcast Island with that book, the wait will be worth it.”

Hearing enough, Astrid and Raeda ran back to Berk to warn Hiccup and Hicca about what they just discovered. As soon as they reached Berk, they split up with Astrid going to the Haddock household to warn Hicca and Raeda going to the forge to warn Hicca. Astrid flung the door open and made a beeline to where Hiccup was sleeping.

“WAKE UP!” She yelled, kicking him awake.

“OW! WHAT--! I thought my sisters’ method for waking me up was bad! Why would you _do_ that?” Hiccup asked, rubbing his stomach where he’d been kicked. “What are you doing?”

“Saving our butts! Raeda and I just saw Heather talking to Savage! She’s working with the Outcasts! Raeda’s gone to warn Hicca.” Astrid exclaimed.

Hiccup was surprised to hear that. “What? Heather’s upstairs, sleeping.”

Astrid scoffed at that. “Oh, yeah? Let's go find out.” She pulled his arm and dragged him upstairs to his room, hoping to catch Heather. Little did she know that Heather had just climbed into Hiccups’ room through the window and laid down on Hiccups’ bed, pretending to be asleep. A second later Astrid and Hiccup barged in ‘waking’ her up.

Heather turned to them. “Hey, guys. Is everything okay?” She mumbled, trying to sound sleepy.

Astrid stared at Heather in shock and disbelief. How did Heather beat her and Raeda here? Hiccup spoke up. “Yes, Heather. Everything's fine.” He ushered Astrid out the door allowing Heather to have some peace.

Hiccup and Astrid then took their conversation outside the house. “Astrid, don't you think it's possible you and Raeda saw something else? I mean it's pretty dark out there.” Hiccup suggested.

“You think _both_ of us would make that mistake? I know what we saw. The girl is not who you think she is!” Astrid said firmly.

“So, who is she, then?” Hiccup challenged.

“I-I don't know... _nobody_ knows! She just mysteriously washed up on our beach. You don't find that strange?” Astrid pointed out.

“No, because her ship was taken over by pirates. Her whole island is under siege.” Hiccup defended.

“The only thing ‘under siege’ is your brain! You're not thinking clearly!”

“Oh, really? _Me?_ ”

“Hiccup, the Outcasts could be attacking any minute!”

“Astrid, if there's one thing I know, it's this: Heather... is _not_ working for the Outcasts.” Hiccup said before he went back inside. Frustrated, Astrid went to the forge, hoping Raeda would have better luck.

Meanwhile, at the forge, Hicca was visited by Ruffnut.

“I’m sorry, you did _what_ exactly?” Hicca asked Ruffnut.

“I locked Tuffnut in an outhouse.” Ruffnut said smiling proudly at herself.

“I’m afraid to ask, but why?”

“Because he was being in idiot.” Ruffnut said. “Not that he wasn’t before but since Heather got here, it’s worse. Did you know that he let Heather sit on _my_ dragon and they both blew up one of the ships? The nerve of that guy! I’m the only one who can get Barf to set off the gas for an explosion!”

“That explains what happened to that ship.” Hicca muttered.

“So as a punishment, I locked him in an outhouse and replaced him with you as my twin. We both could take a break from our brothers fawning over Heather.”

“Hiccup is _not_ fawning over Heather.”

Ruffnut ignored her. “Anyways, what are you doing here? Creating weapons of mass destruction? Can I help?” The blonde girl asked excitedly.

Before Hicca could answer, Raeda came running into the forge running out of breath. “Rae, what’s wrong?” Hicca asked, noticing her best friends’ distress.

“Hicca, we have a problem! You will never believe what Astrid and I have just found out!”

“Don’t worry, that’s just Tuffnut. He will be fine for a while.” Ruffnut said casually. “You didn’t let him out though, did you?”

Raeda, who missed out the earlier conversation, was confused by this. “What? No, that’s not it. Heather is working for the Outcasts!”

“What!” Hicca said alarmed.

Even Ruffnut was surprised. “Whoa.”

“T-that can’t be right. Heather working with Outcast?” Hicca said in disbelief.

“Astrid and I saw it ourselves. She met up with Savage at the shore and told him about the Book of Dragons! She is going to steal it for him.”

Hicca turned to Astrid, who just ran in. “Tell me it’s not true.”

Knowing what the Haddock girl was talking about, Astrid shook her head. “It’s true Hicca. Raeda and I are witnesses to that.”

A thought then crossed Hiccas’ mind. She turned to Ruffnut. “Ruff, you said that Tuffnut showed Heather how to operate Barf and Belch.” The Thorston girl nodded her head. “Do you happen to know if the other guys told Heather anything about their dragons?”

“Sure they did. They were just arguing about who’s dragon is more impressive to Heather.”

“Oh, boy.” Hicca muttered. It was starting to fit together like a puzzle.

“I tried telling your brother, he didn’t believe me.” Astrid said.

“Did you show him that Heather wasn’t in his room?” Raeda asked.

“I tried but by the time we got there, Heather was back in bed. Hiccup thinks we saw something else.”

“It’s just like my brother to give the benefit of the doubt.” Hicca sighed. “Especially with a good alibi involved.”

“You need to believe us, Hicca. We know what we saw. We need to warn your dad.” Astrid said.

Hicca shook her head. “Guys, I believe you, but we can’t go to dad for this. Is there any other proof you have that Heather is working for the Outcasts?”

“No.” Raeda and Astrid admitted.

“Then its’ just your word against Heather’s. She can easily deny it and make up something like you two accusing her for no good reason.” Hicca said.

“Plus, the boys will definitely defend Heather ‘cause she’s pretty.” Ruffnut pointed out.

“So what you’re saying is that we do nothing?” Astrid asked in disbelief.

“I never said that.” Hicca said. She pulled out the Book of Dragons she borrowed to add some notes and gave it to Astrid. “Here, guard this for the night. Make sure Heather doesn’t come anywhere near it.”

Astrid took the book with determination in her eyes. “I’ll be sleeping with this under my pillow and an axe in my hand.”

“Ruffnut, make sure Tuffnut doesn’t tell Heather anything else about any other dragon.”

“No problem, I’ll just keep him locked in the outhouse.” Ruffnut said smirking.

“Raeda, you do the same for Fishlegs and Snotlout.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll send the message pretty clear to them.” Raeda said firmly.

“I’ll talk to my brother about this tomorrow. For now, keep a sharp eye out. If Heather does anything suspicious, report to me immediately.” Hicca ordered.

The four girls agreed to that and went to their houses to get some sleep.

Meanwhile, outside of Berk, on Outcast Island, Alvin and Savage were observing a captured Monstrous Nightmare flame itself up just like that. “Interesting... There's really no rhyme or reason to that thing, is there? Just catches fire at will?” Alvin wondered.

“That's why we need the book! She says everything the boy and girl know is documented in its pages. If we have it we can control any dragon.” Savage explained.

“Eh? Then why aren't I holding this book in me hand?” Alvin asked, narrowing his eyes.

“You will be.” Savage said nervously.

“Good! Because your life depends on it...” Alvin said, walking away.

“I hate it when he says that.” Savage muttered.

The next day on Berk, Hicca was in the forge waiting for her brother to come. She decided to guard the book while Astrid went to check up on the dragons. Hicca quickly grabbed something out of the closet in the forge before turning her attention back to the book; afraid that if she looked away then the book will vanish and end up in Alvins’ hands.

“Hey.” A voice called, causing Hicca to look up. She found Heather putting on her innocent act. The raven haired girl seemed to be unaware that the other girls were on to her. “How are you doing, Hicca?” She asked, sneaking a glance at the book.

Hicca noticed the glance “I’m fine.” She said, trying to sound casual.

She seemed to have succeeded. “You know, I was thinking. This whole training dragons thing. It sounds amazing. I was wondering if I could find a dragon of my own. I could borrow the book for a while to learn all about the dragons and maybe you or Hiccup could help me.”

When she heard her brother being mentioned, Hicca stiffened. ‘This girl has been lying from the start. She’s betraying Hiccups’ trust; she’s betraying all our trust. I can’t let her continue on like this.’ And if it was one thing she knew, she definitely wasn’t going to watch her brother get deceived by this traitor.

“Drop the act, we know Heather.” Hicca said bluntly.

“Know about what.” Heather asked, still acting innocent.

“We know that you’re actually working for the Outcasts and that you’re going to steal this for them! There is no way I’m going to let have it!” Hicca said with determination.

After hearing this, Heather dropped her smile and narrowed her eyes. “Looks like we’re going to have to do this the hard way.” She said. She suddenly charged forward and punched Hicca in the face, sending the Haddock girl back! Luckily, Hicca recovered and punched Heather back before shoving her to the wall. She got enough training from Raeda and Astrid in hand-to-hand combat and was ready to fight. Hicca gave another punch to Heather before the latter grabbed her a tried to knock her into the wall! Hicca managed to kick the wall, stopping Heather and sending them both back. Heather saw the Book of Dragons in front of her and tried to grab it but Hicca was faster. The Haddock girl shoved the book out of Heathers’ hands. Quickly Heather grabbed her, gave her another punch to her face and threw her into the open closet. Before Hicca could recover, Heather shut the door and locked it, trapping Hicca inside. Pounding sounds suddenly filled the air, but Heather ignored, grabbed the book and ran away. Outside, from the distance, Raeda saw Heather run out of the forge as fast as she could. She immediately ran into the forge, hoping that the nagging feeling in her mind was wrong. She heard the pounding coming from the closet.

“Hicca!” Raeda shouted.

“Raeda, quick! Get the keys and unlock this door!”

Wasting no time, the Henderson girl retrieved the key from the table and freed her best friend.

Raeda got worried “Please don’t tell me...”

“Heather took the Book of Dragons.” Hicca finished. “You need to find her and stop her and I’ll go warn my brother!”

At the Haddock household, Hiccup was trying to find the Book of Dragons, unaware that his sister took it for safe keeping. “Hey, Dad, have you seen the book?” He called out

“You'll have to be more specific, son.” The chief answered from upstairs.

“The Book of Dragons. I can't find it anywhere.”

“Maybe Hicca has it.”

As if on cue, Hicca came running in. “Hey, sis. Do you have the Book of Dragons with you?”

“No.” She panted. “But I know _exactly_ where it is.”

Before she could say anything else, Astrid came running in with Raeda behind her. “She's gone!” She shouted.

Hiccas’ eyes widened. “Oh no.”

“Heather?” Hiccup asked.

“No! Stormfly!” Astrid said angrily, “‘Little Miss Innocent’ stole my dragon!”

“And she also has the Book of Dragons.” Hicca said.

Hiccup was shocked by the sudden turn of events. Heather betrayed them.

They immediately gathered the other dragon riders and told them what happened. They got their dragons ready and set out to stop Heather before she reaches Outcast Island.

“Oh, this is bad. This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!” Fishlegs said frantically. “This is catastrophic! I-If Alvin gets that book--!”

“He won't.” Hiccup said. He was still trying to grasp the truth. “Heather... I can't believe it.”

“Me either. How could she walk away from _this_?” Snotlout said, gesturing to himself.

“How could I not have seen it?” Hiccup wondered.

“There wasn’t really any sufficient proof until now.” Hicca said.

“Also because your brain was ‘under siege’.” Tuffnut said, learning this term from Astrid.

“So was yours Tuff, you showed Heather how to operate a Zippleback.” Raeda pointed out.

“Do you even know what ‘under siege’ means?” Hiccup asked the male Thorston twin.

“Yes... no...” Tuffnut said, trying to think. “It's not good, right?”

“No, it's definitely not good.” Astrid said bitterly, still upset with Hiccup for not listening to her.

Hiccup was aware of that “Astrid look...”

“Save it!” Astrid said, cutting him off. “You can apologize when you get me my dragon back.” She climbed behind Hicca, riding with her and Midnight.

Accepting this, Hiccup jumped onto his saddle. “Alright, let's go!” The eight dragon riders took off and the chase begins. “We can't let her reach Outcast Island!”

A bit of distance away, Heather was flying steadily on Stormfly. It didn’t help her that this was her first time riding a dragon on her own. “Whoa, whoa-- E--easy girl! Whoa...!”

“We're never gonna catch them! Stormfly is too fast!” Astrid complained.

“When you're riding her, definitely. Not with a stranger.” Hiccup said.

“Especially not with a stranger who is flying a dragon for the first time.” Hicca added.

Snotlout narrowed his eyes as he saw something in the distance. “What's that? Up ahead!” He pointed.

“It's Heather. And is she ever gonna be sorry she helped me with Toothless' speed.” Hiccup said. He turned to his sister. “Come on, sis!”

“Let’s go!”

They had their dragons fly ahead of the group, catching up to Heather and Stormfly.

“I'll get you in close.” Hicca said to Astrid. Heather saw them coming and gave Stormfly another piece of chicken to increase her speed.

The Haddock twins were surprised by this.

“That’s how Stormfly’s getting faster?” Hicca asked.

“I-is that chicken?” Hiccup asked. “Is that what you've been--?”

“Really? You two wanna talk about that _now_?” Astrid exclaimed to the twins.

“I'm gonna pull right above her!” Hicca said. They flew up above Stormfly and Astrid carefully stood on the saddle.

“O-okay, okay... hold her steady.” Astrid said, getting her balance. She jumped off and thankfully landed on Stormfly right in front of Heather.

“Going somewhere?” Astrid asked, narrowing her eyes. Heather kicked her and pushed her off, sending Astrid flying back! Fortunately, Astrid grabbed on to the tip of her dragons’ tail. “Stormfly! Tail-flip!” She commanded. Stormfly obeyed her riders command, sending Astrid flying back to the saddle. She then got in a fist fight with Heather.

“This is gonna be awesome!” Tuffnut said excitedly as he and the others watched the fight on the blue Nadder.

Fishlegs then noticed they were crossing a certain territory. “Uh, Hiccup? Hicca? I really hate to be the voice of doom, but we just crossed into Outcast waters!”

“Hey, Astrid?! You might wanna move this along!” Hiccup shouted.

“Give me a minute! She's stronger than she looks!” Astrid shouted back.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Hicca said, remembering her fight with Heather.

They got close enough to Outcast Island that they were spotted.

“Incoming!” One of the Outcasts yelled. They got their catapults ready and torched the boulders before launching them at the dragons and their riders. “Fire!”

Astrid was struggling as Heather wrapped her arm around the blonde girls’ neck “Don't you _EVER_... touch...my dragon... AGAIN!” She growled as she kicked Heather, knocking her and the Book of Dragons off Stormfly and onto Outcast Island.

“AH! NO!” Heather screamed as she fell.

“I'm going after the girl!” Snotlout shouted before he and Hookfang dived down.

“I'm going after the book!” Hiccup shouted before he and Toothless followed suit.

Snotlout and Hookfang got Heather just in time “Gotcha! Knew you couldn't stay away.”

Hiccup Toothless flew after the book at high speed. “Come on, bud! We need to get that book!” Hiccup extended his arm, hoping to catch the book in time. “Come on! Come on, come on, come on, come on, bud!” Toothless was forced to turn, however, when a flaming catapult came right in their direction! Luckily, Toothless swerved just in time to avoid that, albeit the burn Hiccup got when his arm got his. But what was worse was that the Book of Dragons fell right into Alvins’ hands! “NOOOOO!”

With the flaming boulders still being launched, Hiccup and Toothless were forced to retreat empty-handed. Defeated, Hiccup couldn’t even look at the others, who were looking at him with hopeful expressions.

“Please tell me you got it.” Fishlegs begged.

Rubbing his burnt arm and looking down, Hiccup spoke up. “I was too late. Alvin has the Book of Dragons.”

TO BE CONTINUED.


	12. Heather Report II

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 12: Heather Report II**

_Previously on the Haddock twins: Riders of Berk_

_The teens found a mysterious girl ship-wrecked on Berk. Her name is Heather who claimed that she and her parents were attacked by pirates. Stoick the Vast, the Chief of Berk and Hicca and Hiccups’ father, allowed Heather to stay on Berk as well as in their household. As Heather got closer to the other teens, specifically the boys, Astrid and Raeda started to get suspicious of this new arrival. Their suspicions were confirmed when they saw Heather talking to Savage from the Outcast tribe. Although Hiccup didn’t believe them, they convinced Hicca and Ruffnut and the four of them were on high alert. But it was in vain as Heather managed to steal the Book of Dragons and gave it right in the hands of Alvin the Treacherous. Now the Dragon Riders have to deal with a possible attack from Alvin as well as a new prisoner._

In the forest of Berk, Heather was running as fast as she possibly could, looking behind her to make sure no one was following her. She didn’t stop for one second; she couldn’t, because if she did then she will get caught. She reached the shores of Berk where she saw a small, lone rowboat. She immediately ran towards it, but was stopped when a blast of fire blew the boat into ashes, sending Heather flying back.

Heather looked up and saw the cause of the blast “You can break out of jail a million times, but you're _not_ getting off this island!” Astrid, flying on Stormfly, yelled. She then got the blue Nadder to grab Heather in her claws and took her back to Berks’ prison. Heather was shoved back into her cell. “Give it up, Heather. We have dragons. You should have figured that out the first three times.” Astrid said, crossing her arms.

The Hofferson girl was about to leave when Heather stopped her. “Astrid, I have to get back to Outcast Island!”

“Yeah, I bet you do.” Astrid said dryly.

“You don't understand! Alvin has my parents!” Heather exclaimed.

“Oh, yeah?” Astrid asked, raising her eyebrows. “What happened to the ‘pirates’?”

“There were never any pirates. I made it all up.” Heather admitted. “But, I had to. I needed you to trust me.”

“Well, guess what? We did trust you, so congratulations. Too bad we _don't_ anymore.” Astrid said, before walking away.

On Outcast Island, Alvin sent Savage with some of his men to retrieve the Book of Dragons. There was just one problem in retrieving the book.

“Uh, is that the book?” One of the Outcasts asked pointing to the book right near a wild Gronckle which seemed docile enough for the time being.

“Looks like.” Savage answered. “The only question is, how are we gonna get to it?”

“Uh, if we had the dragon book, maybe it would tell us what to do!” The Outcast said dumbly, not realising the obvious thing.

“You mean the same book under the Gronckles’ feet?” Savage pointed out.

“Uh, right!”

Savage sighed. “The husky, smart kid on Berk rides one of these dragons. They're very gentle.” As if to prove Savages’ point, the Gronckle sat there acting like a puppy dog rather than a menacing dragon. “So... go take it from him! What are you waiting for? It's just one little dragon, go!” He said, shoving the Outcast in the path of the Gronckle.

The Outcast slowly approached the Gronckle. “Uh, hello there, uh, dragon. If you wouldn't mind, I'd just like to, uh, borrow your--” He was interrupted when the Gronckle placed its’ claw on the book. In a second all resemblance to a puppy dog disappeared as the Gronckle roared right into the Outcasts’ face!

Savage and the other Outcasts winced as they watched what happened to the unfortunate guy. Needless to say, it was not a pretty sight.

“Well, that didn't work... who's next?” Savage asked, turning to the other men. The two other Outcasts just stood there and whistled, neither of them wanting to be the next victim. Sighing, Savage went to do the job himself.

In the Berk Dragon Academy, the teens were with their dragons, practicing new moves to prepare for an encounter with the Outcasts. Snotlout readied a mini-catapult and fired a boulder right at Fishlegs and Meatlug! The Gronckle saw the boulder coming and caught it in her mouth just in time, much to her riders’ relief.

“Hey, watch it! That was a little close, Snotlout!” Fishlegs complained.

“Quit whining, Fishlegs!” Snotlout sneered.

In retaliation, Fishlegs got his dragon to fire a lava blast right at Snotlout! Luckily the Jorgenson boy jumped right out of the way.

“Hey! Cut it out!” Snotlout shouted.

“Quit whining, Snotlout!” Fishlegs mocked

Hiccup and Hicca were observing the training. “Nice job, guys. But remember, the Outcasts are not gonna be coming one at a time.” Hiccup said.

“You don't need to remind me, we're under enough stress.” Fishlegs said nervously.

“Remember, we're only gonna have one shot at getting the Book of Dragons back.” Hiccup continued.

“We can’t afford to make any mistakes, or it can end badly.” Hicca added.

This did not help Fishlegs at all. “Um, did I not make myself clear about the stress...?”

The Thorston twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and their dragon, Barf and Belch, were working creating a line of fire. What none of them noticed was that Snotlout and Hookfang were in that line of fire! Again Snotlout managed to dodge before the gas lit up and Hookfang, being a fireproof dragon, only got irritated by this.

“Too early, Snotlout. We have to time it perfectly!” Astrid shouted.

“I wasn’t even ready.” Raeda exclaimed.

“It wasn't me, it was them!” Snotlout said, pointing to Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

“Uh, sorry.” Ruffnut said, although she and her twin didn’t seem sorry one bit.

“Yeah, still working out the kinks.” Tuffnut added.

Hookfang was still annoyed and was about to go on rampage. “Can you calm him down?” Astrid shouted to Snotlout.

“Fine, whatever.” Snotlout said, running to his dragon. The other teens were surprised as they watched the Jorgenson boy grab his dragons by the horns and bent it to the ground. Hookfang immediately relaxed. “Figured that one out yesterday. He likes it!” He said.

“We need to make a note of that.” Hicca said.

“Wait, wait, wait. He _likes_ having his horns bent to the ground?” Fishlegs asked.

“Tuffnut does.” Ruffnut stated.

Even Tuffnut was surprised by this “I do?” To demonstrate, Ruffnut tackled her brother off his dragon and bended the horns on his helmet to the ground, the same way Snotlout did with Hookfang. But Tuffnut wasn’t complaining. “Oh, yeah... that does feel kinda nice. The dirt's soft...”

“Can we get on with it? There could be a whole army coming at us!” Astrid said to Snotlout and Raeda.

“Well? _We're waiting!_ ” Snotlout said.

“Ready when you guys are.” Raeda said, as the three of them got on their dragons.

“Hit it!” Snotlout commanded, getting Hookfang to create a fire blast.

“Spines, Stormfly/Sparkfire!” Astrid and Raeda commanded. The two Nadders immediately shot their spines right through the fire, creating flaming spines which all landed on the wall, except for one which landed on Tuffnuts’ helmet.

The Thorston boy didn’t seem to mind. “Eh, I kinda like that too. Make a note.” He said to his sister, who gladly did.

“That's gonna work great!” Hiccup said, referring to the new trick.

“You know all this training is nice once we have the book. But Alvin's not just gonna hand it over to us.” Fishlegs pointed out.

“No... but maybe Alvin will hand it to _Heather_.” Astrid said with a glint in her eyes.

The others were confused at that. “Uh... I think Astrid's been eating Dragon Nip again. Hicca, you might want to give Astrid a check-up.” Fishlegs whispered. Astrid overheard that and punched the Ingerman boy in the stomach.

“OW! Why is it always violence with you?!” Fishlegs asked, clutching his stomach.

“It's not violence, its communication!” Astrid explained calmly.

“It’s Astrids’ communication.” Raeda added.

“So you're suggesting that we let Heather go?” Hiccup asked.

“Sort of.” Astrid answered.

“Yep. Dragon Nip.” That gave Fishlegs another punch to his stomach.

“Do you have any idea what Astrid is talking about?” Raeda asked Hicca.

“Not one clue.” The Haddock girl answered.

“Rae, you come with me. The rest of you need to get some supplies and a small boat and meet us at the shores of Berk at night after dinner.” Astrid instructed before she led the Henderson girl out of the Academy.

“Are you going to tell me what you have in mind?” Raeda asked Astrid as they walked out.

“You’ll see.”

On Outcast Island, Savage somehow managed to retrieve the Book of Dragons alive and he handed it over to Alvin. “What's that on your helmet?” The leader of the Outcasts asked, pointing to the bit of lava on Savages’ helmet.

“Lava.” Savage explained. “Gronckle chapter. You might wanna read it.”

Alvin looked at the Book of Dragons “Hm. Well, this is all very interesting. I'll have to see it to believe it.” He then turned to his right hand man. “Where's the girl?”

“She was captured after she made the drop.” Savage answered.

“How unfortunate for her.” Alvin sneered. “But hey, let's give this a try, shall we?”

At night, after dinner in the Great Hall, Hiccup, Hicca, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were preparing the boat and were waiting for Astrid and Raeda. They didn’t see either of the girls in the Great Hall so they still didn’t know what the plan was. “T-t-t-t-t-this is gonna w-work, right?” Fishlegs asked, clearly panicking. “Cause if it doesn't work, Alvin's gonna know all of our dragon secrets. And if Alvin knows all of our dragon secrets...”

“Fishlegs! It'll work.” Hiccup said calmly, confident in Astrids’ plan even though he still didn’t know what it was. The teens then noticed two figures walking towards them. “Oh, that must be--”

One of the figures stepped forward revealing herself to be-

“Heather!” Ruffnut exclaimed.

“Get her! That rhymes!” Tuffnut shouted as he and his twins pounced on Heather and pinned her to the ground.

“YOU! MUST! STAY! IN! YOUR! CELL!” Tuffnut yelled as he and his sister struggled to keep Heather pinned to the ground. “How many times do we have to tell you--?!”

“Guys, that’s not Heather!” Raeda said, walking up towards them.

Suddenly ‘Heather’ punched both Ruffnut and Tuffnut off her. “It's me, you muttonheads!”

It took the other teens a second to realize that it was actually Astrid in disguise. They then figured out her plan. Snotlout and Fishlegs were impressed.

“Wow.”

“Oooh.”

“Nice job with the disguise, Rae.” Hicca praised.

“No problem and all I needed was soot, stitched clothes and a new hairstyle for this.” Raeda replied.

“Oh, sorry, Astrid. Totally unconvincing.” Tuffnut said, clearly forgetting what happened a second ago.

“Oh, yeah, I could tell.” Astrid said sarcastically as she walked to the boat.

“You sure about this?” Hiccup asked worriedly.

“No.” Astrid admitted. “But it's our only chance.”

“We'll be shadowing you from the sky.” Hiccup informed her.

“I don't need shadowing.” Astrid said, getting on the boat.

“I know that. But just in case. You know... it'll make _me_ feel better.” It was clear that Hiccup was still feeling guilty about not listening to Astrid earlier. Maybe things would have gone differently if he had.

“Fine, just stay out of sight. If Alvin sees you, it'll all be over!”

“Don't worry about us. Just get the book and get out of there. We'll be waiting.” Hiccup said as he and Fishlegs pushed the boat to the ocean, sending the disguised shield maiden on her way to Outcast Island.

“Hey, Astrid? Be safe...” Hiccup said to the leaving boat.

“Don’t worry bro. She will be safe. If anyone can handle this, its’ Astrid. Plus, there are seven dragon riders and six dragons ready to bail her out of any possible trouble.” Hicca said reassuringly, causing Hiccup to smile.

“That’s right!” Tuffnut said from behind. He then got confused. “Wait, what exactly are we going to do?”

The Haddock twins rolled their eyes, not bothering to answer the male Thorston. The teens then went to get their supplies and their dragons ready before they head out to shadow Astrid.

In the prison, Bucket, who was in charge of watching Heather, brought a bowl of soup to the cell.

“Anyone in here hungry?” He called to the cell. “We've got a lovely cabbage soup tonight. Yummy!” His eyes widened as he saw that the cell was empty again! “Aw, not again! Stoick's gonna kill me!” He used the key to open the cell and looked around. “Oh, not good, not good, not good...” Unbeknownst to Bucket, Heather was using a different approach to escape.

She was hanging on the ceiling of the cell and as soon as Bucket came inside, she jumped on the poor bucket-wearing man, knocking him out. She then dragged him into the cell and locked him in there. “Sorry, Bucket, but I have to get to Outcast Island. And _nothing_ is gonna stop me.” She said before sneaking off.

Astrid reached the shores of Outcast Island. “Whoa...” She whispered as she got out of the boat, she started looking around, deciding what to do when a voice called out from behind.

“We thought you'd been captured.” Astrid turned around and saw that it was Savage along with a few Outcast men.

Checking her disguise to make sure it was intact, ‘Heather’ spoke up. “I was! But I got away!”

“Well, it's good to see you safe and sound.” Savage said insincerely before turning to his men. “Get rid of her.”

“WHAT?!” ‘Heather’ shouted, eyes widening.

“We don't need you anymore.”

“Savage, wait!” ‘Heather’ pleaded. “You _do_ need me! I can prove it! You have the book, right? But that’s not going to be enough. I've watched them. I've learned a lot from them. Trust me! That book is only worth something if you know how to use it.”

Back on Berk, Stormfly was sleeping peacefully in her stable when the real Heather woke her up. Startled, the blue Nadder immediately shot a few spines and one of them pinned Heathers’ sleeve to the wall.

“Okay. Never startle a sleeping Nadder.” Heather muttered, taking the spine off.

She carefully approached the blue Nadder. “Hey, it's me girl. Your old pal, Heather. You and I are gonna go on a little trip.” She got the saddle and strapped on to Stormfly. “I'm-I'm just gonna put this saddle on you.” Stormfly sniffed her new friend, hoping for a treat. “Sorry, girl. No chicken tonight.” The Nadder was disappointed to hear that. As soon as she got the saddle on, Heather got on Stormfly. “See? No big deal. Okay. Good girl! That wasn't so hard. Now. Let's go find Astrid.” At the mention of her riders’ name, Stormfly narrowed her pupils and immediately took off, knowing exactly where to go.

Hicca, Hiccup, Raeda, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout were on their way to Outcast Island on Midnight, Toothless, Sparkfire, Barf and Belch, Meatlug and Hookfang. Each rider was carrying a basket.

“I wanna go on record as saying I'm not so sure about this plan, guys.” Fishlegs said to the Haddock twins.

“If you have another one, we’re open.” Hiccup replied.

“Actually it’s kind of too late to change plans right now.” Hicca said.

“I just think landing in a wild dragon nesting ground is really going to freak Meatlug out.” Fishlegs said, although the female dragon seemed calm.

 _‘Wouldn’t be my first time.’_ Meatlug said in her dragon voice.

“Really?” Hiccup asked, raising his eyebrows. “Well, how does she feel about flaming arrows and catapults?”

“Uh, yeah, she really doesn't like those, either.”

_‘If the catapults throw rocks, I’m okay with that.’_

“Oh, you don't say?” Hiccup asked, humouring Fishlegs.

“Tell you what, Fishlegs.” Snotlout spoke up. “When we get there, you just lay back, and let the real dragons do the work.”

“Yeah... You really have no idea what a swarm of angry wild dragons are capable of.” Fishlegs said nervously.

Barf and Belch came up on either side of Fishlegs with Ruffnut and Tuffnut. “You know what would be awesome?” Tuffnut asked his sister with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

 _‘All three of those things?’_ Barf guessed.

“Flaming arrows... Catapults...” Ruffnut answered.

“ _And wild dragons!_ ” The Thorston said in unison as they flew back.

 _‘Yes!’_ Belch exclaimed.

Fishlegs gulped. “That makes three of you.”

“Come on, Fish. No time to have second thoughts.” Raeda said.

On Outcast Island, Savage took ‘Heather’ back to the Great Hall and told Alvin that they need her to understand the Book of Dragons

“Seems pretty straightforward to me.” Alvin said, reading through the chapters of the book.

“It's _anything_ but straightforward, Alvin.” ‘Heather’ said.

Alvin didn’t believe it. “If there's one thing I've learned, it's that people will say anything to keep themselves alive.” He turned to his right hand man. “Isn't that right, Savage?”

“Right! A-as usual, Alvin.” Savage said nervously, proving Alvins’ point.

“See? Now you say I need you to interpret what's in this book, to use it properly. I say it's nothing but a ploy.” Alvin said to ‘Heather’.

“Fine. Give it a try.” ‘Heather’ said innocently.

Alvin threw the book at one of the Outcasts. “You heard the girl.”

Two other Outcasts brought a wild Deadly Nadder and the Outcast with the book looked nervous. “Alright. Uh, seems easy enough.” The look on his face said otherwise. “Uh... What kinda dragon is this?”

“It's a Deadly Nadder.” ‘Heather’ answered. “You need the page number?”

“Uh... Nope. Nope, nope, right here.” The Outcast said, turning to the page of the Deadly Nadder. He then read the notes. “Deadly Nadder. Likes to preen. Very sure of itself. Uh, constant grooming. Hmm, alright, we'll appeal to its vanity.” Closing the book, the Outcast approached the wild Nadder. “Well, you, uh, certainly are a lovely girl.”

 _‘Oh, thank you!’_ The Nadder seemed flattered until the Outcast spoke again. “O-or are you a handsome boy? Wh-who can tell?”

 _‘What!’_ That offended the Nadder greatly and she shot spines at the Outcast in retaliation. Luckily for the Outcast, ‘Heather’ jumped in and got a nearby shield, keeping the Outcast from getting pierced by the spines.

“Like I said. The book can only get you so far, Alvin.” ‘Heather’ said throwing the spine filled shield near Alvin.

The rest of the dragons and the riders were getting close to Outcast Island.

“Everything seems alright. No Outcast or catapult in sight.” Hicca reported.

Hiccup turned to Fishlegs. “You see this, Fishlegs? You got yourself all worked up for nothin'.”

He spoke too soon as a group of wild dragons started surrounding them “Umm... You were saying?” Fishlegs asked.

“Guys, remember! Stick to the plan! No matter how crazy it gets.” Hiccup ordered.

“Crazy? I love crazy! Bring it!” Snotlout yelled enthusiastically. He then got confused. “Wait! What's the plan again?”

“Just do what everyone else is doing!” Hicca shouted.

As the wild dragons came closer, Hiccup decided to execute their plan. “Now! Fire!” Instead of commanding their dragons to fire at the wild dragons, however, the dragon riders opened the baskets they were carrying and emptied out its contents, which were lots and lots of fish!

The wild dragons made a beeline for the raining fishes while Toothless, Midnight, Sparkfire, Hookfang, Meatlug and Barf and Belch were trying to fight the tempting urge to dive themselves.

“That's sweet!” Fishlegs said, instantly relaxing.

“Yes! We did it! Stupid dragons!” Snotlout shouted, holding up a fish. He soon regretted that though as one of the wild Deadly Nadders grabbed him by the arm, trying to get his fish! Snotlout yelped as he was carried away by the wild Nadder and Hiccup and Toothless followed right behind them.

“Would you just let go of the fish?! I'll catch you!” Hiccup shouted.

“NO! THAT'S MY LUNCH!” Snotlout hollered stubbornly.

“Now!”

Reluctantly, Snotlout let go of the fish he was holding and was immediately released from the Nadders’ claws. He landed right behind Hiccup on Toothless saddle and the three of them rejoined the rest of the gang.

In the Outcast version of the Arena, Alvin shoved ‘Heather’ to the entrance, wanting the girl to prove herself in a little test. ‘Heather’ held out her arm expectantly.

“What is it?” Alvin demanded.

“The book. I need it.” ‘Heather’ said. “Well, I didn't memorize it.” Annoyed, Alvin gave the book to her and shoved her in to the Arena. Astrid clutched the book close to her while looking at the gate doors with anticipation. “Please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder. Please be a Nadder, please be a Nadder.” She muttered. To her dismay, the dragon she is going to face is a Monstrous Nightmare! The dragon blasted into the Arena, flaming itself up and ready for a fight. “Ugh. Great.” She grumbled. She opened the book on the Monstrous Nightmare chapter, but was interrupted by Alvin from the sidelines.

“Well? I'm waiting.” Alvin called, getting impatient.

‘Heather’ closed the book and faced the dragon. “Alright, big boy. It's you and me.” She approached the dragon and tried using the techniques she usually uses with Stormfly. She ran to the dragons’ tail and smoothen it out, but it had no effect as she had to dodge a blast of fire from the Monstrous Nightmare. “Okay. Check that off the list. How 'bout the direct approach.” Again, it was no use as the Monstrous Nightmare continued to blast fire at her and ‘Heather’ continued to dodge.

“Our little Heather is feistier than I remember.” Alvin commented to Savage who nodded in agreement.”This isn't anything my soldiers haven't already tried. You'll need to do better.” He shouted.

“Ugh! The one time I wish Snotlout was here.” ‘Heather’ muttered. She then remembered something Snotlout showed to her and the others in the Academy. “Snotlout...” With a new determination, ‘Heather’ ran up to the Monstrous Nightmare and jumped grabbing the dragon by its’ horns. Before she could bend them to the ground, the dragon fought as much as it could and slammed ‘Heather’ right to the wall!

“Well. That's the end of that.” Alvin said, not really bothered by what just happened.

Savage then saw something. “Wait! Look.” He pointed.

“Urgh!” ‘Heather’ had her feet on the wall and she used all her strength to push the dragons’ head back. “These things don't budge!” She grunted. She pushed her feet off the wall and bent the horns to the ground, finally calming the Monstrous Nightmare.

Alvin was shocked by this “What?! Oh, ho! I told you she knew what she was doing!”

“Yes, you certainly did.” Savage said sighing.

Astrid got on the dragons neck and slouched her shoulders. “Ugh! What do you say we get outta here?” She said to the dragon.

 _‘Thought you’d never ask.’_ The Monstrous Nightmare agreed and rose its’ head up. ‘Heather’ grabbed the Book of Dragons that was on the floor and prepared her escape.

“Going somewhere, Heather?” Alvin called.

“As far away from this place as possible!” ‘Heather’ shouted.

“Without your parents?” Alvin asked as a man and a woman, both terrified, were ushered in the sidelines.

“Parents?” Astrid muttered. She then remembered when Heather told her about Alvin having her parents. “She was telling the truth?”

“I might see my way clear to trading 'em for that book.” Alvin said. “Or you can leave and I'll kill 'em!”

That put Astrid in a dilemma. Heather was being blackmailed by Alvin this whole time. Astrid couldn’t leave and let Heather become an orphan and she certainly couldn’t let an innocent couple lose their lives. She needed a new plan.

The rest of the gang landed in a safe spot on Outcast Island and were waiting for Astrid who has yet to come.

“Ca-caw, ca-caw.” Snotlout called, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“What are you doing?” Hiccup asked his cousin.

“Duh, that’s our signal.” Snotlout answered.

“We don’t give the signal this time, Astrid does! We talked about this!” Hiccup said exasperated.

“Yeah, like about ten times already. Eleven if you include this.” Hicca said while she sat with Midnight.

“Like any of this matters anyway.” Fishlegs said worriedly. “She’s almost an hour late! Alvin must have figured out what was going on and...” He trailed off not wanting to finish that sentence.

“That costume sucked. I told you guys.” Tuffnut said as he sat with his twin and their dragon.

“Oh, are you talking about the one that made you and Ruffnut tackled Astrid to the ground, thinking she was Heather?” Raeda retorted.

“Guys!” Hiccup shouted, breaking up any possible fight. “She’ll be here. It’s Astrid.”

“Yep, none of us would have agreed to this plan if we didn’t think she could do this.” Hicca added. The seven teens and six dragons continued to wait for the Hofferson girl to come.

Alvin brought Heathers’ parents into the Arena and ‘Heather’ got off the Monstrous Nightmare with the book in her arms. “Well, let's have it.” Alvin demanded.

“Send them over first!” ‘Heather’ shouted.

“Fine...” Alvin said annoyed. “Off you go.” He shoved Heathers’ parents forward and they walked. However, on closer view the couple realised that the girl in front of them was not their daughter.

“Mom! Dad!” ‘Heather’ exclaimed hugging them both. The couple didn’t hug back and, instead, were confused. “I'm a friend of Heather's.” Astrid whispered. “I'm here to help.”

“You do realize I'll never let you out of here with that book.” Alvin reminded her.

“No kidding!” ‘Heather’ said. She then whispered to the couple again. “When I tell you, drop to the ground. It's about to get really hot in here!”

“Oh, Heather! I'm waiting.”

“Now!” Astrid shouted. Immediately the couple dropped to the floor and Astrid threw the book in the air. She then turned to the Monstrous Nightmare behind her. “Sorry, boy!” She punched his snout, angering the dragon and causing it to shoot fire at the Outcasts.

Astrid caught the book and made her escape with Heathers’ parents. However, Alvin grabbed a bola and threw it at Heathers’ father, tying his legs together. His wife and Astrid tried to help him up as Alvin walked to them.

“Heather, Heather, Heather...” Alvin said, grabbing the girl by her hair. He let go when he felt something on his hand. He started becoming suspicious when he saw that it was soot. “Aye! Or are yeh?”

The teens continued to wait for their eighth member to come back. Hiccup spotted a familiar figure in the distance. “There's Astrid!”

Fishlegs noticed the older couple with her. “Who's that with her?”

“I don't know.” Hiccup answered, looking at Astrid. Astrid gave a hand signal. “But that's the signal.”

“You guys know what to do.” Hicca said to Snotlout, Raeda, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut. The five teens nodded, got on their dragons and flew off to their hiding spots. Hicca then got on Midnight. “Come on, girl. It’s show time!”

Hiccup followed suit. “Okay, let's go bud!”

The Haddock twins and the Night Furies flew to where Astrid and the couple were. The couple seemed afraid of Midnight and Toothless as they took a few steps back.

“Who are they?” Hiccup asked

“Heather's parents.” Astrid explained. “She was telling the truth. Just go with the plan.”

Before either of the twins could let the new piece of information sink in, they were confronted by none other than Alvin the Treacherous himself.

“Oi! There they are! Get 'em!” The five Vikings and two dragons were surrounded by armed Outcasts as Alvin moved forward to the group with the Book of Dragons strapped on his belt. “Heh, heh, Hiccup and Hicca. Bet you're both surprised to see me.”

“Eh, not really.” Hiccup said, shrugging his shoulders “This is where you live, right?”

“We’d be surprised _not_ to see you here.” Hicca said casually.

Toothless and Midnight growled at Alvin, both of them ready to attack. “Easy, bud.” Hiccup said, calming down his dragon. “Looks like he's got us. This time.”

“Stand down girl.” Hicca said to her dragon.

“You know, Hiccup and Hicca, with this book, your knowledge of dragons combined, and my knowledge of warfare, we could make quite the team. How's that sound?” Alvin offered.

“Uh, insane? Demented? Delusional? Stupid?” Hiccup said, listing the words on his fingers.

“And absolutely, one hundred per cent never happening.” Hicca added.

“Alright then, we'll just have to agree to disagree.” Alvin said, shrugging. “You're two smart kids. You know I can't let you leave the island.”

“And you're a smart, murderous, barbarian, Alvin. You know we have a better plan than this.” Hiccup replied.

“So do I.”

“Now!”

“Now!”

Both leaders gave the command to their teams and the fight began! The rest of the dragon riders flew out of their hiding spots and attacked the Outcasts. Hookfang and Sparkfire blasted the Outcasts away while Meatlug, Barf and Belch used their tails to knock the Outcasts down.

It seemed that the dragon riders were going to win, but the Outcasts have learned from the previous experience. They lassoed Barf and Belchs’ necks together, knocking their riders off their saddles. “Yeouch!” Tuffnut yelled as he hit the ground.

Fishlegs and Meatlug got captured under a net. “This wasn't part of the plan, guys!” He shouted nervously to the Haddock twins while clutching the net.

Some of the Outcasts also lassoed Sparkfire by her tail and mouth. Raeda tried firing arrows, but it was deflected by the Outcasts’ shields “What do we do now?!” Raeda asked, hoping that either Hicca or Hiccup would have a back-up plan.

Toothless and Midnight tried firing plasma blasts at the Outcasts by it got deflected by the shields. Astrid managed to grab one of the shields from the Outcasts.

Hookfang was surrounded by Outcasts. “There's too many of them!” Snotlout yelled.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Ruffnut shouted as she and her twin were also surrounded by Outcasts.

“We're never getting out of here!” Astrid exclaimed.

Just when all hope seems to be lost for the dragon riders, spines were shot from above, freeing Sparkfire from her binds.

“Is that...?” Astrid looked up to the source.

“Yeah!” Heather shouted in triumph. Stormfly then lifted the net of Fishlegs and Meatlug shot a jet of fire at Barf and Belch, freeing them from their binds.

“Heather!” Hiccup said.

“Stormfly!” Astrid exclaimed, happy to see her dragon.

“What? Heather?!” Alvin yelled, outraged that his plan is being foiled.

Heather and Stormfly landed near Astrid. “I'm sorry I didn't believe you!” Astrid said.

“It's okay. I wouldn't have believed me either.” Heather replied.

Astrid got on Stormfly behind Heather. “Now let's get your parents.”

The Stormfly then grabbed the two adult with her claws. “Mom, Dad, hang on!” Heather shouted to her parent, who offered no complaints.

Barf and Belch kept the Outcasts away from their riders. Getting up and giving each other a high-five, the Thorston twins got on their dragons, ready for action.

“Alright guys, just like we practiced!” Hiccup ordered. “Ruffnut, cover fire!”

“It's about time!” Ruffnut exclaimed. She got Barf to fire a line of green gas.

“I love this part!” Tuffnut said. “Wait for it...” Belch then lit up the gas creating a line of fire.

The Outcasts got their catapults ready and launched a boulder towards Fishlegs and Meatlug.

“Fishlegs! Incoming!” Hicca shouted.

Luckily for Fishlegs, his dragon caught the boulder right on time again. “Whoa! Nice catch girl! Lava blast!” Meatlug happily complied and fired a lava blast, destroying the catapult. “That's it, Meatlug!”

“Yeah!” Heather exclaimed.

“Now, Raeda, Snotlout!” Astrid shouted.

“We’re ready!”

“Go for it!”

Through their combined attacks, the three dragons created flaming spines which sent the Outcast running.

“Yee-haw! You feelin' the heat, boys? 'Cuz _I_ sure am!” Snotlout hollered.

Alvin was so busy watching the dragon riders in anger that he failed to notice a female Night Fury until she rammed right into him! As fast as she possibly could, Hicca got of her dragon and snatched the Book of Dragons from the dazed chief of the Outcast. She then jumped right back on her saddle and rejoined the others in the sky.

Seeing his sister with the book, Hiccup smiled. “Great job, guys. Let's get out of here.” The eight riders, seven dragons and two adults then made their escape.

But Alvin wasn’t ready to give up. “They're getting away! Stop them!” He was so determined to get them back that he would do anything. Even put his second hand man in one of the catapults.

“Shouldn't we test this first?” Savage asked nervously. Sadly for him, Alvin didn’t listen and launched him in the air. “AAAAHHHH!” Savage went flying towards Stormfly and knocked into her, causing Astrid to fall off!

Luckily for Astrid, a few branches broke her fall as she landed on the ground. Before she could recover, Alvin came and picked her up, throwing her on his shoulders. “Why you little-”

“Astrid!” Hiccup and Hicca yelled as they steered Toothless and Midnight to follow Alvin. They cornered him to a cliff and he dangled Astrid off the cliff! “Surrender! Or I'll... eheheh, you know the rest.” Alvin threatened.

“Do it, bud.” Hiccup said, while Hicca and Midnight prepare to catch Astrid when she falls.

Astrid then looked down and saw a familiar dragon flying towards her. “Hiccup! Don't shoot!” She yelled. Toothless held back a plasma blast. The Monstrous Nightmare from the Arena flew up and slammed into Alvin, throwing him to the ground. Astrid immediately jumped onto her new friend and made her escape with Hicca, Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight.

“Who is that?” Hiccup asked, referring to the Monstrous Nightmare.

“Just a new friend I made.” Astrid answered.

_‘Hi there.’_

The teens were finally out of danger and headed home.

Alvin got up and was shocked by what he just saw. “Did you see that?” He asked Savage, who walked up to him. “That dragon came for her. It protected her!”

“Bonded with her.” Savage said. “We need to get that book back, Alvin!”

Alvin had a new idea in mind. “Oh, we need more than that book. We need _that_ _boy and that girl_.”

This was definitely not the last time Hiccup and Hicca encounter the Outcasts.

The teens reached Berk and told the chief about their mission as well Heather being blackmailed by Alvin. Stoick was glad to see everyone okay, especially Hicca and Hiccup, and arranged for a ship to take Heather and her parents back to their home.

Hiccup, Hicca and Astrid said goodbye to her at the docks. “I can't thank you enough.” Heather said while hugging Hicca. “Especially you, Astrid. You put your life on the line for us. I'll never forget that.” She then gave Astrid a hug as well.

She turned to Hiccup and gave Toothless a good pat on the snout. “I'm gonna miss you.” She said to the dragon. “Both of you.”

“Eh, who knows? Maybe we'll see each other again sometime.” Hiccup said

“Maybe we will.” Heather said smiling.

“Just promise me one thing: If you need help again, you'll ask.” Hiccup requested.

“We’ll always be ready to help.” Hicca added.

“I will. I promise.” Heather said. She got on the ship with her parents and they sailed away back to their home

**_Ever since dragons showed up on Berk, we've learned to expect the unexpected._ **

Snotlout was standing on one of the outposts at the docks “Write me.” He signed to Heather. The raven haired girl kindly shook her head to say no.

**_But every once in a while something or someone comes along that surprises us. And when that happens, you kind of hate to see them go._ **


	13. Thawfest

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 13: Thawfest**

**_Every year on Berk, we come together to test our strength, endurance and courage in the annual Thawfest Games. For some of us, it's not such a great time of the year._ **

It was that time of the year where the Thawfest games take place. Astrid, Raeda, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs were in the Academy training.

Meanwhile in the forest, Gobber was coaching Hiccup and Hicca in their training. As usual, because of their scrawny figures, they didn’t have much luck.

Currently, Hiccup was trying, and failing, to uproot a tree. “Come on, Hiccup! Pull! Put your back into it! Put your _legs_ into it! Put your _entire body_ into--” Gobber shouted, before Hiccup accidently let go of the tree he was trying to uproot, hitting his mentor in the face. “YA! Hey!” Gobber yelled while rubbing his face.

Hicca sighed. This was the same story for them every year. She turned to see Snotlout doing the same exercise her brother was doing, with his father coaching him. Only difference was that he was more successful as always.

“Faster, Snotlout! You have to push yourself, son!” Spitelout coached as his son continue to uproot and throw tree after tree. He finished the last three and chanted with his father. “Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!”

It was Hicca’s turn to do an exercise as Gobber placed a sheep on her shoulders and made her run while her brother took a break. She then started racing Snotlout.

“See ya! Wouldn't want to be ya!” Snotlout taunted as his cousin fell forward from the weight of the sheep. Hicca could only get up and watch as her cousin ran past her. Hiccup came to help his sister up.

**_In fact, Hicca and I have lost every single time... to Snotlout. But this year, all that will change. This year one of us finally has a chance to win. Because, for the first time ever, this year, the Thawfest Games will include—_ **

“Dragons!” Gobber exclaimed to the teens, minus Snotlout, in the Academy. “They are now officially part of Thawfest. There will be three additional events. The fly-and-shoot, which will require you to fly straight and shoot straighter.” He suddenly had to duck as a fireball flew by “Hey!” He yelled, looking at the source of the fireball.

“Sorry!” Tuffnut, who was sitting on Barf for some reason, said. “We were on the wrong head.”

“I thought there was something different about the view.” Ruffnut commented as she and her twin switched seats.

“Ah, much better.” Tuffnut said

Gobber continued “Next, is the free-style. Where it's up to you to impress the judges with a trick of your choice.”

He stopped when he saw Stormfly flying in the air with Astrid doing a hand-stand on her saddle and moving her legs. “That's it, girl. Just like we practiced...” Astrid instructed.

“Ah! The Nadder Wing Walk. Impressive, Astrid.” Gobber commented.

“Yeah, but nothing like what Sparkfire and I have planned.” Raeda said.

“Um, excuse me.” Fishlegs said, coming up to Gobber. “Meatlug and I were wondering if there were going to be any intellectual events. A puzzle perhaps?”

“Or a medical quiz round?” Hicca asked, hopeful.

“I'll take that under advisement, Fishlegs and Hicca.” Gobber said. “And let’s not forget the hurdles! Where you'll be asked to--”

Again, he was interrupted. This time it was by Snotlout and Hookfang, who have just arrived in the Academy with the former wearing his previously won medals, no doubt to show off. “Woohoo-hoo-hoo-hooo!” Hookfang landed and Snotlout got off. “You know what my favourite thing is about the Thawfestival Games?” The Jorgenson boy asked rhetorically before answering his own question. “Winning!” He held out one of his medals in front of Hiccup and Hicca. “You wanna touch one of my metals, just to see how it feels to be a winner?”

“Ah, I think I'll pass.” Hiccup said plainly.

“You do know we can easily make tons of these at the forge, right?” Hicca asked.

Snotlout ignored her “My family has never lost a Thawfest Games. Ever.”

“Here we go...” Astrid sighed.

“Funny Snotlout. You seem confident know. But when you go against me in the head-to-head tie, you always break into a sweat.” This is true. The only one who can ever match up to Snotlout is Raeda, thanks to her parents training. Every year those two have to go through a tie breaker to determine the winner because they always get equal points. Not even Astrid can match up to them. Snotlout always wins by a hair, despite Raedas’ best efforts.

“Yeah, well don’t forget; I’m always the one who wins every single tie-breaker we’ve had.” Snotlout said “Dragons or no dragons, I'll do what I do every year: Bring glory to the Jorgenson clan.” He boasted. He then pointed to Hiccup and Hicca. “And you two will do what you do: embarrass yours.”

“Let's go, Hookfang!” Snotlout got on his dragon and took off, though Hookfang decided to accelerate. “AAAAHHH! I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL!”

In the evening at the Haddock household, Hiccup was busy taking measurements from Toothless for his new saddle. “Aaaah-kay... Aha...”

“What are you two working on?” Stoick asked coming to Hiccups’ room.

“Some ideas for Thawfest.” Hiccup answered.

“And where is Hicca?”

“At the Cove with Midnight practicing for the dragon-related games in Thawfest.”

“Right... right... excellent.” Stoick said awkwardly.

Hiccup noticed that his father was still standing at the doorway. “So... did you need something, Dad?”

“Oh, well--uh--with the dragons, you and Hicca could actually, uh...” Stoick tried to say.

“Beat Snotlout? Best the Jorgensons?” Hiccup offered.

“Well, that definitely does have a nice ring to it.” Stoick said smiling. “Okay, then! You seem to know what you’re doing so I'll let you get back to whatever it is, um, you two do. Yeah.” He said before he left.

Finally the big day has arrived. “Let the Thawfestival Games begin!” Stoick announced, receiving applause from the villagers. The applause grew louder when the chief opened a crate full of colourful Terrible Terrors.

A large sailcloth was hung with the paintings of the Viking teens on it. Hicca and Hiccups’ was second last and last respectively.

Inside the Arena, Spitelout was giving a pep-talk to his son.

“What are we?”

“We're killers!”

“What do we do?”

“We kill!”

“What do we say?”

“Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!” Father and son chanted.

The eight Viking teens lined up at the starting point for the first event; the Sheep Lug. The contestants had to race from one side of the Arena to the opposite while carrying a sheep over their shoulders, the first to reach the finish line won.

“The contests are lining up for the Sheep Lug.” Mulch announced. He and Bucket were the commentators for the Thawfest gamest.

“It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch.” Bucket commented.

“Well, Bucket, everyday's a good day for lugging sheep.” Mulch said. The teens were ready, with the sheeps on their shoulders, waiting for Mulch to give the signal. “On your mark... Get set...”

_CLANG_

The bang on Buckets’ bucket gave the signal for the contestants to start the race and they were off. Snotlout was in the lead with Astrid and Raeda trailing behind him. Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut collapsed due to exhaustion. Hicca and Hiccup did their best to catch up to the three in the lead, but both of them fell due to the weight of the sheeps. Snotlout was the first to reach the finish line.

“Yeah!” Snotlout yelled in triumph.

“That's my boy!” Spitelout cheered.

“The first point of the Thawfest Games goes to Snotlout!” Mulch announced. As one point was added near Snotlouts’ painting.

Snotlout walked up to his cousins who were still on the ground. “Right where you two belong! Down at my feet. Here, let me help you guys.” He offered both of his hands, but when the twins tried to grab them, he immediately pulled back. “Oops! Too slow! As usual.” He said snickering.

Raeda glared at the Jorgenson boy as he walked off and went to help the Haddock twins up. Thanking her, Hiccup and Hicca went to join the others for the next event.

“Next up is our traditional Log Roll event!” Mulch announced. The eight teens got on a log balanced by two posts at opposite ends. The log will start spinning and the contestants have to run to stay on the log for as long as they can. The last one on the log is the winner.

“Enjoy your face-plant!” Snotlout sneered.

_CLANG_

The log started spinning at fast speed and the teens ran to stay on top of the log. The first to fall was Fishlegs, who accidently took down Astrid and Hicca. Soon Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Hiccup fell and it was down to Snotlout and Raeda. The two were head to head until Raeda finally slipped and fell, leaving Snotlout to take another victory.

“And another point goes to Snotlout!” Mulch said as another point was added to the score.

“That's my boy!” Spitelout yelled.

Toothless helped his human get up from the ground. “Ow. Thank you, Toothless.” Hiccup said. He went to join the other teens for the next event.

“The next event is the Axe Throwing contest, where accuracy is supreme!”

The goal of this event was simple; throw an axe at the target and the one with the most accurate throw wins.

Snotlout was up first. Predictably, he got a spot on throw.

“Bull's Eye!” Mulch announced.

Next was Raeda. Although she always uses her bow and arrows, her parents made her train with the other weapons so that she could use them if necessary, and that paid off when she threw her axe right on the target.

“Another Bull’s Eye!”

It was Astrids’ turn. As an axe wielder, this event was definitely Astrids’ forte-

“And they go-- ooh! “

-If Fishlegs hadn’t thrown his axe at the same time as Astrid did, causing their axes to collide with each other.

Tuffnut threw his axe but it was completely off target and it hit one of the posts.

“Watch out, there!”

Ruffnut spun around before throwing her axe and it ended up flying towards the audience! Luckily for them, the chief caught it.

It was Hiccups’ turn as he threw the axe and he would have gotten a spot on throw if the axe had actually reached the target.

Finally, it was Hiccas’ turn. She threw the axe with all her strength and it covered the distance to the target, but was thrown in the wrong direction.

That left two winners for this event; Snotlout and Raeda. They each got a point added to their pictures.

Snotlout decided to show off some more. “Here's how it's done, Dragon Boy and Dragon Girl.” He said to Hiccup and Hicca. He grabbed a few more axe, turned his back on the target and threw the axes behind him. He didn’t miss the target once!

“Show off!” Hiccup grumbled.

Spitelout got up from his seat and gave the chief a smug look. “Why don't you just give us the metal now Stoick? Save your boy and girl the embarrassment?” The villagers ‘oohed’ to that, wondering how their chief was going to reply to that.

“Why don't you take a seat, Spitelout?” Stoick retorted with a glare. This caused more ‘oohs’. That caused Spitelout to sit down.

“Don't let him get to you.” Gobber advised his friend.

“He's been getting to me for years.” Stoick replied. “Why should today be any different?”

The first day of the events has ended and here’s the score so far:

Snotlout: 3 points

Raeda: 1 point

Astrid, Hiccup, Hicca, Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Fishlegs: 0 points

“Well, dead last.” Hiccup muttered.

“As always.” Hicca sighed.

“Wow! I have all the points and the best-looking picture?” Snotlout bragged loudly. “Unfair!”

Hiccup then remembered the dragon part of the games “Oh, have your fun now. Tomorrow, everything changes... Right, bud?” He turned to Toothless who warbled excitedly.

“That’s right tomorrow we will be competing in the dragon events.” Hicca said while Midnight warbled with the same enthusiasm as her mate.

“I can't wait.” Snotlout said, not scared about tomorrow. “Because Hookfang and I? It's like boy and dragon have become one. We're like a Bragon. Or a Droy.” He then got on Hookfang and they flew off. “Or a Snotfang!” He shouted.

“Yeah? Well, tomorrow you're gonna have to deal with... Hictooth!” Hiccup yelled back.

“And Hicnight.” Hicca shouted.

“Hictooth? Hicnight?” Astrid asked as she and Raeda walked up to the Haddock twins.

“Yeah, it's not our snappiest comeback.” Hiccup admitted.

“It’s _a_ comeback.” Hicca remarked.

“Why are you two letting yourselves get caught up in this?” Astrid asked.

“Because... for the first time ever Hicca and I have a chance to beat Snotlout. To quiet him down--” Hiccup said.

What Hiccup, Hicca and Astrid didn’t noticed was that Raeda had a worried look on her face for some reason.

Snotlout and Hookfang then flew by them. “Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!”

“Good point.” Astrid said to Hiccup.

“Rae, can I borrow your bow and arrow to shoot Snotlout off of Hookfang, please.” Hicca asked sweetly.

Raeda snapped out of her worried look and spoke up. “I might beat you to that, Hicca.”

“I have to admit, it would be nice to see someone else with a Thawfest medal.” Astrid said.

‘Wouldn’t be for Snotlout, though.’ Raeda thought.

Hiccup turned to Snotlout and Hookfang, who were still flying above them “You've spiked your last sheep, ‘Snotfang’. Tomorrow's a new day.”

The next day came and the teens were raring to go for the Dragon events.

“Welcome to day two of the Thawfest Games!” Mulch announced. “Let the Dragon events begin!”

“It's a good day for lugging sheep, Mulch.” Bucket said.

“First up, the Hurdles!”

The object of ‘Hurdles’ was that both dragon and rider needed to fly under a series of hurdles without hitting at least one. The duo that cleared all the hurdles wins.

“Hurdles, shmurdles. I could make it over those things in my sleep.” Snotlout boasted. He forgot something about the event.

“Be my guest.” Hiccup offered.

“You don't go _over_ them Snotlout, you go _under_ them.” Astrid informed the Jorgenson boy.

“Duh. I knew that.” Snotlout lied.

“And first up is Fishlegs!” Mulch said.

Fishlegs and Meatlug went took their cue to go. Unfortunately because of Meatlugs’ size, they couldn’t even get pass the first hurdle! “Um, guys! A little help over here!” Fishlegs called. “It's okay, girl. This just isn't our event.” He said to Meatlug.

Next were Astrid and Stormfly. They did a good job, until Stormflys’ tail started knocking the last few hurdles.

Raeda and Sparkfire took their turn. They cleared all the hurdles perfectly.

“A perfect run by Raeda.” Mulch commented. Another point was added to her picture.

The Thorston twins and their dragon, Barf and Belch, were next. They had only made it passed two hurdles when Barf and Belch got their necks caught in the third hurdle, sending Ruffnut and Tuffnut flying to the crowd.

It was then Snotlouts’ turn “Where's your book, Hiccup?! You and Hicca might want to take notes! Ha, ha!” Snotlout said confidently. That confidence, however, got shattered when Snotlout and Hookfang smacked into every hurdle in their path!

It was Hiccups’ turn. “Let's show them how it's done.” He said to Toothless. Toothless did a barrel roll and he and Hiccup breezed through the hurdles.

“And Hiccup makes another perfect run!” Mulch announced as Hiccup got his first point painted near his picture.

Finally it was down to Hicca and Midnight. “We got this, girl.” With that, the duo zoomed straight under the hurdles in record time!

“Hicca makes the third perfect run with the fastest time.” Hicca was also given her first point.

Finally for the first time in years, the Haddock twins were able to win an event. Astrid, Raeda and Fishlegs were about to congratulate them when Hiccup spoke up.

“HA, HA, HA! Did you hear what he said? ‘Perfect!’ I-I believe those are my first Thawfest points ever!” Hiccup said excitedly. “I just realized something: I like beating Snotlout! I feel taller. Am I taller? Never mind, don't answer that.”

“Midnight and I got the fastest time through the hurdles! We so dominated in that event! You should have seen the look on Snotlouts’ face! Oh, victory feels so good.” Hicca said happily.

And they weren’t the only ones happy with their victory.

 _‘Hah, victory for us!’_ Toothless warbled.

 _‘I knew I’d be the fastest.’_ Midnight warbled

Fishlegs, Astrid and Raeda were shocked to hear this. “Are they... gloating?” Fishlegs asked.

“I'm not sure. I've never actually seen Hiccup and Hicca gloat.” Astrid answered.

“They’re just enjoying their first victory, that’s all.” Raeda said, though she looked a little uncertain.

Snotlout and Hookfang flew to where the Haddock twins were. “Don't get too excited. You know what this is?” Snotlout asked, holding up two fingers “Still the number of wins I need to end this thing. And you what this is?” He still held up three fingers. “The number of chances I have.”

Neither Hiccup nor Hicca seemed bothered by this.

“Oh, yeah? Well, you know what this is?” He formed a circle with his finger and thumb. “The size of your brain. No. Wait...” He made the circle smaller. “That's much better.”

“Still wrong.” Hicca said. She held her fingers in a pinch. “This is the actual size.”

Snotlout scoffed. “Like either you have ever seen my brain. Come on, Hookfang.” They then flew off.

Hiccup noticed Astrid staring at him and his sister. “What? He started it... when we were five.”

He and his sister then flew off, Astrid turned to Raeda. “They’re just taking Snotlout down a peg or two. Giving him a taste of his own medicine.” The Henderson girl said with the same uncertainty.

It was time for the next event. “Next we have the Free-Style event! Contestants and their dragons show off their style and abilities!”

Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Barf and Belch went first.

“Check this out!” Ruffnut said while standing on her brothers’ shoulders.

Tuffnut kept his feet on Barf and Belchs’ necks. “We call it ‘The Iron Split’!” Barf and Belch moved their necks apart, causing Tuffnut to do a split. The audience winced at that. The Thorston twins ended up with a low score.

 _‘We should have done something with fire.’_ Barf said.

 _‘No we should have done something with an explosion.’_ Belch argued.

Next were Fishlegs and Meatlug. “We like to call this next feat of daring... ‘The Extreme Butterfly’!” Fishlegs announced. Meatlug began to fly in circles as fast as she could. Unfortunately they got dizzy pretty quickly and crash-landed. They also got a low score.

“It's okay, girl. This just isn't our event either.” Fishlegs said to Meatlug.

Astrid and Stormfly went next. Stormfly flew around the Arena while Astrid did a few acrobatic tricks on her Nadders’ back. “‘The Balance Dance’” Fishlegs said in awe. “How does [she](http://howtotrainyourdragon.wikia.com/wiki/Astrid) make it look so easy?”

“How come [you](http://howtotrainyourdragon.wikia.com/wiki/Ruffnut) can't do that?” Tuffnut asked turning to Ruffnut. “I mean... I could.” Ruffnut punched her brother to the ground.

Astrid got a high score at that, but it wasn’t the perfect score to earn her the point

It was then Raeda and Sparkfires’ turn. Raeda and Sparkfire flew straight upwards until they were a good distance from the ground. Then Raeda got of her dragon and started to free fall! The audience gasped as they watched both dragon and rider descend to the ground. Before they could hit the ground, Raeda grabbed Sparkfire by the tip of her tail and the purple Nadder took that as her cue to spiral upwards with her riders hanging on her tail.

“The ‘Tail Glider’, risky move.” Fishlegs said amazed after recovering from his shock from seeing Raeda free-fall. The risk paid off for the Henderson girl as she got a perfect score adding another point to her picture.

Hicca and Midnight went next. Midnight flew around the Arena, with Hicca standing on her left wing. The audience were at the edge of their seats as they watched the youngest Haddock walk from the left wing to the right during the flight! That alone was enough to secure her a perfect score, giving her another point for her picture.

Hiccup and Toothless took their turn. “WHOO-HOO! YEAH, BABY!” Hiccup hollered as he and Toothless flew to the skies at top speed. They then reached a sea stack where Toothless did a series of aerial somersaults and they flew right over it. Another perfect score was given to Hiccup giving him another point.

Finally it was Snotlout and Hookfangs’ turn. For their trick a few wooden hoops, fit for Hookfang to pass through, were set up in the Arena.

“I hear Snotlout's gonna try a trick called "The Rings of Deadly Fire". No one's ever tried it before.” Tuffnut said.

“Yeah! Because it's too dangerous.” Ruffnut added excitedly.

“No! Because he just made it up!” The Thorston boy retorted.

Knowing the disaster that can come, Hicca took her first aid kit out of her satchel. “I’m going to be on standby.” She said; ready to go to healer mode when needed.

“I'm probably gonna win just for coming up with this!” Snotlout bragged as he and Hookfang got ready for their trick. He and Hookfang then took off. “Fire!” Hookfang followed his riders’ command and set the hoops on fire. However, after seeing that, the Monstrous Nightmare started panicking and flew away from it. Unfortunately for Snotlout, that caused him to lose his balance and fly off the saddle, hitting the burning rings and causing them to tumble down. Snotlout got up in panic as his pants caught fire. He immediately ran to a nearby trough filled with water as the audience laughed. He got a zero for that trick.

“I get the rings and the fire part...but where's the death? I feel cheated.” Tuffnut complained.

“Oh, Snotlout, your dad looks pretty mad right now.” Hiccup said as he and his twin walked up to their cousin. It was true in fact, as Spitelout was giving a scowl to his son, clearly unimpressed by his sons’ trick.

“What do you know? He always looks like that!” Snotlout retorted.

“Looks like the tables are turning, Snotlout.” Hicca smirked. “How does it feel to be on the losing end for once?”

“Do you two really think you have any shot at beating me?” Snotlout asked them in disbelief.

“As a matter of fact we do have a shot at beating you.” Hiccup countered.

“Do not!” Snotlout said sharply.

“Do too.” Hicca retorted.

“DO NOT!”

“DO TOO! Think about it! Toothless and Midnight are Night Furies, fastest dragons of the Archipelago. And Hicca and I are the best Riders. One of us is definitely going to win.” Hiccup said.

“You guys will lose! Because that's what you two do! I win, you lose!” Snotlout shouted.

“Check the scoreboard, Snotlout. Not anymore!” Hiccup said pointing to the scoreboard.

It read:

Snotlout and Raeda: 3 points

Hiccup and Hicca: 2 points

Astrid, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut: 0 points.

Unable to think of a comeback, Snotlout walked away while muttering under his breath.

“What was that all about?” Astrid asked the Haddock twins

“Just rattling cages.” Hiccup said while Hicca nodded in agreement. They both left to get ready for the final event.

Astrid turned to Raeda. “Since when do they ‘rattle cages’?”

“Since never.” Raeda admitted. “They’re usually in the cages that get rattled.” She needs to have a talk with her best human friends soon.

It was now time for the final event. “The contestants are lined up for the Fly-and-Shoot, where they must shoot down their foes and spare their friends!” Mulch explained. The contestants have to manoeuvre through the maze as wooden cut outs of Outcasts and Berkians appear. The riders need to get their dragons to shoot the Outcasts and spare the Berkians,

Hiccup and Toothless went first.

“Outcast, bud!” Hiccup spotted. Toothless immediately blasted the wooden cut out. A wooden Berkian then appeared. “Toothless, no! She's a friend!” Just when they thought they were finished, Toothless spotted one Outcast cut out that his rider didn’t see and blasted it without command. “Thanks bud. I didn't see that one.”

“Hiccup and Toothless come through with a perfect score!” Mulch announced.

Hicca and Midnight were next and they breezed through the maze, blasting all the Outcasts and sparing all the Berkians. They got another perfect score.

Astrid, Fishlegs and the Thorston twins took their turns. However they either accidently blasted a Berkian or spared an Outcast and did not get a point from that.

It was then down to Snotlout and Raeda. If either of them got a point, then he or she will be the winner unless they other get a point as well. If they both win this event, they will be going head-to-head in a tie breaker, but if they both lose, they will compete with Hicca and Hiccup in the tie-breaker

Snotlout was up first “Okay, Hookfang. A clean run here and we're the champs!” They flew through the maze and Snotlout spotted an Outcast. “Fire!” Hookfang immediately blasted the wooden cut out. “Gotcha! Ha, ha, ha!” Snotlouts’ celebration was cut short the target that got blasted was placed near a bag of sand, causing the sand to fly in Hookfangs’ eyes!

 _‘Ahhh! I can’t see! I can’t see!’_ Hookfang roared.

Disoriented, Hookfang accidently blasted wooden Berkian children! “NO! Those were kids you six-thousand-pound lizard!” That did nothing as the Monstrous Nightmare started going crazy! “No! What! What are you doing?! STOP! SHOOTING!”

_‘I’m trying to get the sand out of my eyes!’_

“Snotlout! Get that dragon under control!” Spitelout yelled from the sidelines.

“This does not look good for the reigning Thawfestival Champion!” Mulch commented as Hookfang continued to set the entire maze on fire.

The Thorston twins, however, got very excited at seeing the chaos and mayhem. “Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!” They chanted.

After Hookfang finally calm down and the maze was repaired, it was all up to Raeda. If she won this event, she will be the new Thawfest champion. If she loses, it will go to a tie-breaker.

Everyone leaned forwards in anticipation. Raeda and Sparkfire moved towards the maze, both of them were keeping a look-out for Outcasts and Berkians. “There! Shoot!” Raeda shouted pointing at an Outcast. Sparkfire did exactly that. Then a Berkian appeared. “Sparkfire, hold.” The purple Nadder complied. It was going well for them as they shot five Outcasts and spared seven Berkians. It looked like there is going to be a new Thawfest champion.

Until Raeda spotted the last Berkian. “Sparkfire, shoot!” It was too late to take back the command, as the Nadder blasted the Berkian, costing them their point.

“Oh, that was so close! Raeda was on the brink of winning it all!” Mulch commented.

Hiccup and Hicca found it odd that Raeda made that mistake, it was unlike her. They decided to shrug it off.

“And for the first time in Thawfest history, we have a quadruple tie!” Mulch announced excitedly as Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda and Snotlout went to the stands. “Tomorrow, these four young Vikings will go head-to-head in an event to decide the Thawfest Champion!” The four teens smiled and waved to the cheering crowd.

“I can't believe how lucky you two are.” Snotlout muttered to his cousins while still smiling and waving to the crowd. “You two don't even belong on this stage.”

“That's it. Keep talking, Snotlout, as your family's winning streak goes up in smoke... just like your Rings of Deadly Fire.” Hiccup taunted.

“The Jorgenson winning streak is over.” Hicca declared.

Again, unable to come up with a snide comeback, Snotlout stormed off and kicked a barrel.

“Hey, what's the matter? Yak got your tongue?” Hiccup called to his cousin while Hicca snickered.

“Hiccup! Hicca!” Astrid said in shock.

“Oh, he's crumbling under the pressure. I can feel it.” Hiccup smirked.

“He is going to be so humiliated tomorrow.” Hicca said with a smug smile.

Hiccup and Hicca turned to find Astrid glaring at them. “What?” They asked.

“You know what I always liked about you two? Both of you were always a gracious loser. Who knew you two would be such lousy winners.” Astrid said before walking off.

Raeda decided to confront the twins. “Look guys, this whole gloating thing was alright at the beginning because you two were starting to get use to winning, but now this has gone out of hand. You two need to stop!”

But to her shock and surprise, the twins just smirked at her. She was even more shocked by what they said. “Oh, Raeda. You’re just upset because now you’re going to be competing against me and Hiccup.” Hiccup said.

“Let’s face it; now that Hiccup and I are in the tie-breaker, it’s no longer down to you and Snotlout, it’s now down to the two of us.” Hicca added.

Raeda was speechless. Was she hearing this correctly? Were the two people she considered her siblings actually talking to her like this? Taking a deep breath, Raeda finally found her voice. “You know what? I’m glad that at one point, you guys were outcasts of this village. Because at that time I got to know the genuine, calm and content Hiccup and Hicca. Honestly if I met you guys for the first time right now, I would keep my distance from both of you! Talk to me when you guys got some sense knocked back into yourselves!” With that she stormed out of the Arena, never looking back.

That night Hiccup and Toothless were in the forge while the former was working on the tailfin.

“Lousy winner...” Hiccup grumbled. “I'll be a great winner!”

“Not if I beat you to it.” Hicca said as she and Midnight walked into the forge. The two Night Furies nuzzled each other while the Haddock twins talked.

“Spying, sis? Really.”

“I’m just here to say; good luck and may the best dragon rider win.” She said holding out her hand.

“Don’t worry, sis. I will.” Hiccup said as he reached to shake her hand. However, Hicca quickly moved her hand away.

“Too slow.” She said as she walked away from the forge. Midnight warbled a goodbye to her mate and followed her rider.

‘I can’t believe I fell for that one.’ Hiccup then went back to his work. He showed the new connecting rod to Toothless. “See this, bud? Lighter. Thinner. Ooh, this will help us fly faster and turn quicker. I also stripped down your saddle. Light as a feather. But this!” Hiccup said holding the new tailfin. “This is what's gonna make the most difference. A tail as thin as paper and even stronger than before. We're gonna be able to cut and turn better than we ever have. Snotlout, Hicca and Raeda won't have a chance.”

It was the third day of the Thawfest and the final four contestants were getting ready for the tie-breaker match. They got some pep-talk from their parents.

“Do the best that you can Raeda. Just like you do every year.” Helga Henderson said to her daughter while her husband nodded in agreement. Raeda smiled and nodded.

Stoick walked up to his children. “Remember, kids... no pressure.” He simply said. Hiccup and Hicca nodded to him.

Snotlout was with Hookfang stretching. “Yeah. Whoo! Gotta keep it loose...”

“Snotlout!” Spitelout called from behind.

Snotlout turned to face his father. “Yeah! Hey, Dad! Just stretchin' out the hammier, ya know?”

“Did you ever hear the story of when I almost lost the Thawfest Games?” Spitelout asked nicely.

“No! I never did.” Snotlout answered.

“That's right. Because it never happened!” Spitelout said. His expression then turned stern, causing Snotlout to shrink back. “No Jorgenson has ever lost the Thawfest Games. Don't you be the first.” He walked away and Snotlout noticed his cousins were looking at him.

“What are you two looking at?” He demanded.

Hicca and Hiccup looked away and they noticed that Raeda was giving Snotlout a sympathetic look, one that she used to give them a long time ago. When the Henderson girl saw the Haddock twins looking at her, she immediately turned away and went to line up for the final event.

“Welcome to the final deciding event of this year's Thawfest Games. The Obstacle Course Race!” Mulch announced. “Take it away, Gobber!”

Gobber explained the rules of the game “The race will start here in the stadium, where, after the Log-Dodge, and the Cliff-Climb, Hiccup, Raeda, Hicca and Snotlout will get on their dragons, loop around the flagship anchored off the coast, slam through the sea-stack maze, then head back here! The first one to pass that finish line is the winner!” He then looked at his arms. “Look at those goosebumps!”

Hiccup and Hicca exchanged a glance before they turned to Snotlout. “Hey, uh, can Hicca and I talk to you for a second?”

“No!” Snotlout answered.

“Okay... uh... I just wanted to say, have a good race and... may the best Viking win.” Hiccup said sincerely, while Hicca nodded in agreement.

“Oh, he will.” Snotlout said pointing to himself. “Don't you two worry your scrawny-little-selves about that. See three at the finish line. Or, maybe I won't.”

“You’re asking for it.” Hicca said.

Hiccup sighed. “Alright. We tried. If that's how you want it.”

“That's _exactly_ how I want it!” Snotlout said.

The Haddock twins saw Raeda looking at them. But she didn’t say anything as they got ready. The twins exchanged another glance. They owed their best human friend a huge apology later on.

“Vikings and dragons! Take your positions!” Mulch shouted. The teens lined up at the starting line while their dragons lined up at the cliff.

“On your mark...Get set......and...”

_CLANG_

GO!

“Out of my way!” Snotlout shoved Hiccup into his sister before he took off with Raeda right behind him. The auburn-haired twins got up and ran to catch up. Snotlout and Raeda ran up the stairs and dodged the falling logs with ease. Hicca and Hiccup were behind them avoiding the logs as well.

The four of them climb on the cliff, all racing to the top while trying to avoid the rocks being thrown at them from the Vikings above. One of the rocks hit Snotlout in the face, but the Jorgenson boy kept moving.

“Ooh! Rock to the face! Heh, I love a good rock to the face.” Tuffnut said from the sidelines. Ruffnut immediately grabbed a rock and threw it at her brothers’ face. “Yeah, that's what I'm talking about...”

Snotlout and Raeda finally made it to the top, got on Hookfang and Sparkfire and took off.

Suddenly Hiccup lost his footing and started to fall!

“He's falling!” Mulch shouted.

“I can't watch!” Fishlegs squeaked covering both his and Meatlugs’ eyes.

Hicca, who was behind her brother, caught his arm and helped him get his footing back.

“Yeah! That's my girl!” Stoick cheered as she watched his daughter help his son get back to climbing the cliff.

The Haddock twins made it to the top and jumped on their dragons. They now have a lot of catching up to do.

“Full speed, Midnight! We can catch up to them!”

“Okay, bud. We got a lot of ground to make up. Let's go!”

Midnight and Toothless shot out into the skies at high speed, doing their best to catch up to the Monstrous Nightmare in the Deadly Nadder in the lead.

“Look at them go!” Mulch shouted.

“Hiccup and Hicca are closing in on Snotlout and Raeda!” Gobber yelled to Stoick.

“I can see that, Gobber!” The chief retorted.

Just when Hicca and Hiccup were catching up, Snotlout had Hookfang speed up. “Hey! How's that feel? Ha, ha, ha!”

Raeda and Hicca tailed behind him while Hiccup decided to put the new tailfin to good use. “Okay. Let's see what this new tail can really do.” He fully opened Toothless’ tailfin and they shot out like a cannonball, surpassing Raeda and Hicca and catching up to Snotlout.

“Did ya see that, Bucket? That sudden burst of speed!” Mulch said to his friend.

The race became trickier for the contestants as they now have to manoeuvre through the narrow path filled with sea-stacks. Raeda and Hicca flew above and below the boys, giving themselves a safe flight path. But Snotlout and Hookfang were blocking Hiccup and Toothless’ path, making it more dangerous for them as their path got narrower. “MOVE OVER!” Hiccup yelled to his cousin.

“Yeah, sure!” Snotlout retorted. But he then saw an oncoming sea stack. “Ahh!” He, Hicca and Raeda managed to avoid the sea stack and continue on their path. Hiccup did swerve out of the way, but he turned the wrong way leading to him and Toothless to fly off course.

Astrid gasped “Hiccup has to go the long way around!”

Luckily, with the new tailfin, Hiccup and Toothless soared through the course as fast as they possibly got and they managed to catch up to the other contestants.

“He's closing in, Stoick!” Gobber exclaimed.

“I can see that, Gobber!”

It was neck and neck with the four riders and the dragons. Hiccup and Hicca seemed to be having more of an edge over Raeda and Snotlout. “Okay, bud. Let's finish this.” Hiccup said to Toothless.

“Come on, Midnight! We can beat them!” Hicca said to her dragon.

Just when they were about to surpass Snotlout and Hookfang, the Haddock twins were surprised to see their cousin look really scared. “No... I can't lose! I can't lose! Auh, I can't lose...”

Hiccup and Hicca then remembered over-hearing Snotlouts’ conversation with his father before the race and they both realized that the Jorgenson boy actually needed the win more than they did. They remembered how they gloated when they won and how they insulted the one person who supported them all these year.

‘What am I doing?’ Hiccup and Hicca thought to themselves. One glance exchanged and the twins knew what they have to do. Hicca steered Midnight to make sure she was right behind Toothless and Hiccup. Raeda noticed this and became confused as to what Hicca was doing.

‘We’re sorry, Dad.’

Hiccup closed the tailfin, causing him and Toothless to fall back and collide with Hicca and Midnight.

“Something's wrong!” Fishlegs shouted as he watch the four of them fall into the forest. Astrid smiled as she realised what Hicca and Hiccup did.

And she wasn’t the only one. Raeda looked to where the auburn-haired twins fell and smiled, proud that the old Hiccup and Hicca came back. She and Sparkfire were still in the race as Snotlout and Hookfang were just a few inches ahead.

“Snotlout and Raeda come down the final stretch!” Mulch announced. He then saw who was the first to reach the finish line “And Snotlout is the winner of the Thawfest Games!”

“Woohoo!” Spitelout cheered. “Now that's a Jorgenson!”

Hiccup, Hicca and the Night Furies came out of the forest when a voice greeted them. “About time you guys came to your senses.” They turned to see Raeda and Sparkfire walk up to them.

“Rae, we are so sorry for what we said to you. It was completely out of line!” Hicca said.

“Yeah, Astrid was right. We were lousy winners. Can you forgive us?” Hiccup asked.

Raeda smiled at them. “Of course! It is really hard to stay mad at you guys. Come on; let’s go congratulate the reigning champ.”

Hiccup finally asked Raeda a question that was on his and Hiccas’ minds. “Rae, have you been letting Snotlout win this whole time.”

Raeda acted innocent. “I don’t know what you’re talking about? Snotlout won fair and square. I do my best in these events, that’s why I get so close to beating Snotlout in the tie-breakers. But you know what? That’s good enough for me and it’s good enough for my parents.”

This confirmed the Haddock twins’ suspicions and they smiled at their best human friend. “You’re really amazing, Rae.” Hicca said.

“Of course I am.”

Snotlout and Hookfang reached the cliff “We did it... We did it! We did it!” He then saw the people coming to congratulate him and regained his composure. “Of course we did it...”

Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda came up to him.

“Nice flying, Snotlout.” Hiccup said extending his hand for a shake.

“Really good job.” Hicca said.

“Yeah. You put up a good fight...” Snotlout said as he was about to shake Hiccups’ hand. He then pulled his hand back. “But not good enough.”

Hiccup just let it go. It seems that order has been restored.

The four contestants went back to the stage where Stoick officially announced the winner. “It's been a spectacular Thawfest Games. Perhaps the best ever. These two young men and two young women have put on quite a show. But alas, there can be only one champion.” He awarded the medal to Snotlout. “The Thawfest dynasty continues. The winner, and still champion, Snotlout!”

“We did it!” Snotlout exclaimed.

“You did your family proud.” Stoick said. The chief looked at his children and smiled at them, letting them know that he was proud of both of them.

“Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!” Snotlout chanted as he celebrated his victory with his dad.

Hiccup received a hit on the head, courtesy of Astrid “Ow! What?”

“I know what you and Hicca did.” She said.

“Yeah, we lost. As usual.” Hiccup said.

“And Snotlout won. As usual.” Hicca added.

“No. You two threw the race.”

“W-we have no idea what you're talking about, Astrid. Snotlout was just the better Viking today.”

“No, Hiccup. No one was a better Viking than you and Hicca, today.” She gave Hicca a sisterly hug and gave Hiccup a kiss on the lips.

“Awww!” Raeda and Hicca both said.

“Hiccstrid is alive!” Hicca declared.

“Hiccstrid?” Astrid and Hiccup asked.

“Both of your names combined. It’s your couple name.” Raeda explained.

“That is so dumb.” Astrid said.

“It’s not dumb, it’s perfect!” Raeda argued.

“All they need now is a date. How about a trip to the beach?” Hicca suggested.

“Oh! What about riding through the clouds at sunset?” Raeda suggested.

“Or at night.”

“How about we get out of here before these two start planning our wedding?” Hiccup whispered to Astrid.

“Lead the way.” Astrid whispered back.

They slowly snuck out of the Academy while Hicca and Raeda continued to brainstorm date ideas. Eventually the two girls noticed their friends disappearance.

“Hey! They’re leaving!” Hicca said seeing her brother and friend walk out the entrance of the Academy.

“They’re not getting out of this that easily. After them!” Raeda declared and the two girls ran after them.

**_Yep. Lost again. Some things never change. But I guess some things are more important than winning. Like being a good friend. Even if the friend is... Snotlout._ **


	14. When Lightning Strikes

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 14: When Lightning Strikes**

 

**_Living with dragons has its’ ups..._ **

A Deadly Nadder flew around the village of Berk and decided to rest on one of the roofs of the house. Unfortunately for the Nadder, the roof collapse and fell under the dragons’ weight. A Gronckle, who saw what happened from another rooftop, experienced the same thing a second later.

**_...and its’ downs. You need to stay calm. Keep a clear head. Not always easy with Vikings._ **

Aware of the problem, Hiccup and Hicca devised a solution; perches. They consulted their idea with Gobber in the forge.

“More supports?” Hiccup suggested, showing their mentor their idea.

“Eh, well, they _are_ dragons.” Gobber said.

**_In our own way, we're very reasonable._ **

Over the next few days, the Vikings worked together to build the new perches. The day came when they were finished and after setting it up, Astrid volunteered herself and Stormfly to test out the perches.

Astrid flew Stormfly above the perch and tried to convince the nervous blue Nadder to stand on it.

 _‘Why did you volunteer us for this?’_ Stormfly squawked.

“It's okay, girl. Just take it easy.” Stormfly stood on the perch and thankfully, it stayed intact.

“Yes! It works!” Hiccup shouted in triumph.

“Alright!” Hicca exclaimed.

“Way to go!” Gobber yelled.

“Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!” Snotlout yelled.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut, however, weren’t too happy by this.

“So we built these things so stuff _wouldn't_ break?” Tuffnut asked, disappointed.

“I don't understand you people.” Ruffnut grumbled.

“And they tricked us into helping them build them. I feel so used... and sweaty.” Tuffnut said as he and his sister walked away.

“Didn’t you explain to them what the perches were for?” Hicca asked Raeda.

“Well they just assumed what it was for and I didn’t bother correcting them.” Raeda shrugged. “It got them motivated to work.” **_But when a problem is caused by something Vikings don't understand, they lose all sense of reason. And that can become very dangerous._**

At dinner time, the Haddock family invited Gobber to their house to celebrate the success of the perches.

Stoick, Gobber, Hiccup and Hicca clank their mugs together. “Perches for dragons! Some of your best work, kids.” Stoick said praising his children. He was about to take a sip from his mug when he stopped and saw the contents inside. “Although we may need to move the one over the well.”

Hiccup and Hicca felt very motivated by their success today. “And the perches are just the beginning, we can build landing areas for them, maybe even stables in the caves underneath the village and-” Hiccup said excitedly.

His sister cut him off. “We need to start making the plans right away! Where did I keep my journal?”

Stoick chuckled at his childrens’ enthusiasm. “Easy you two, remember Berk is still for people.”

“Vikings before dragons. That’s how it’s always been and that’s how it always will be.” Gobber added.

That statement caught Toothless and Midnights’ attention. They brought their heads out of their basket of fish and looked at the blacksmith.”Yeah, I said it. Deal with it.”

A sudden burst of thunder caught everyones’ attention. Panicking, Toothless and Midnight ran upstairs while the others ran outside to see what is happening. They stood outside and were shocked to find lightning striking all the perches in the village.

“Whoa.” Hicca muttered.

“The lighting is hitting everywhere.” Hiccup said.

“It usually doesn't strike here in the village.” Stoick commented.

“Thor must be angry.” Gobber guessed. “The only other time I can remember lighting ever striking Berk--”

Stoick and Gobber both remembered the name. “Barnstat.”

Hiccup and Hicca both exchanged confused looks. “Barn-who?” Hiccup asked.

“Jürgen Barnstat, drifter, sailed into town. He was stealing from widows and old men.” Stoick explained.

“To punish him, Thor gave him a lightning bolt right to his helmet when he was fixing the mast on his ship to make his escape.” Gobber said, pointing to a scorched helmet on the wall.

“By the time Thor was finished with him, our whole fleet was on fire!” The chief said.

“We shipped him off the island and Thor hasn't hit the village since.”

“Threw him off the island? Pretty harsh.” Hiccup said.

“But then again, he did steal from widows and old men.” Hicca pointed out.

The lightning started setting the homes on fire. Midnight and Toothless came out of the house.

Stoick immediately went to chief mode. “Gobber, organize a bucket brigade. I'm going up to Great Hall.”

Terrified by the lightning, Toothless and Midnight ran away to avoid getting struck

“Toothless!” “Midnight!” Their riders called out, but it was in vain as their dragons disappeared.

“We gotta find Toothless and Midnight.” Hiccup said, turning to his sister. Hicca nodded and they both took off to look for Midnight and Toothless.

On the slopes, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were enjoying the mayhem caused by the thunderstorm.

“Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about!” Tuffnut said excitedly.

“I've always liked Thor.” Ruffnut said, admiring the buildings burning down.

“Oh, I love these storms!” Snotlout said happily to Fishlegs, Raeda and Astrid. “When it rains, I cancel bath night and just stand outside with nothing but a sponge and a bar of soap.”

“We know. The village has had meetings about it.” Fishlegs said.

“Some of us have been scarred for life.” Raeda said, shuddering at the mental images.

Hiccup and Hicca ran up to the four teens. “H-Hicca and I need your help. We need to find Toothless and Midnight!” Hiccup said.

“Have you seen either of them?” Hicca asked.

“I just saw them by the Great Hall.” Astrid answered. Hiccup went with Astrid on Stormfly while Hicca went with Raeda on Sparkfire and the six of them headed to the Great Hall.

At the Great Hall, Stoick lead a few men up the stairs while carrying two men over his shoulders. “Don't worry, men. You're gonna be alright.”

“It's striking throughout the entire village. It's like we're under siege!” Mulch exclaimed.

“I've never seen Thor this angry!” Bucket said, terrified.

Stormfly and Sparkfire landed in front of the Great Hall and the four riders got off. Hicca and Hiccup looked around and finally spotted the two Night Furies. Toothless came running in, desperately trying to avoid getting struck by the lightning that seems to be following him. Midnight was running after her mate to try to calm him down.

“Midnight!”

“Toothless!”

Mildew noticed the lightning following the male dragon. “Did you all see that?”

“Look! The lightning is following him!” Mulch pointed out.

“Toothless!” Hiccup called, worried that his dragon might get hit.

An evil idea came to Mildews’ mind. “Don't you all understand? Thor _is_ mad at all of us! And I'll tell you why. Because of him!” He said pointing to Toothless. “As you all know, the Night Fury is the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself! We've let him and his mate live among us and now we will all pay the price!”

“Well, it did seem as though the lighting struck right at the dragon.” Mulch admitted.

“Yes! Right at the dragon! And a lightning storm the likes of which we've never had! There is but one thing for us to do: banish the Night Furies! It's the only way!” Mildew exclaimed as the Vikings slowly started to agree with the old man. “Thor is angry at us because of the Night Furies. You all saw it!”

“What?! No! This is ridiculous!” Hiccup said trying to change their minds.

“There is no way this is true, Mildew! You just want an excuse to get rid of Toothless and Midnight!” Hicca accused. “You always look for any kind of excuse to get rid of them!”

Mildew ignored both of them “If we don't act now, well, need I remind you of... Barnstat!” That got more Vikings to agree with Mildew.

Stoick stepped in the calm the villagers down. “You're right, all of you! Thor is angry, but I don't believe he's angry at Toothless and Midnight.”

“That's right! Have you all forgotten what Toothless and Midnight have done for this village?!” Hiccup exclaimed.

“They helped defeat the Red Death even though you guys chained them and forced them to take you to their Nest and they helped us fight against the Outcast even though they were wrongly banished from Berk!” Raeda listed.

“Also Midnight is a Night Fury as well and the lightning is not after her!” Hicca pointed out.

“Well, then who do you suppose he's angry at?” Mildew.

“Maybe you.” Hicca said boldly.

“He would have a good reason to.” Raeda said, supporting her best friend.

Stoick then spoke up. “I don't presume to know Thor's mind, Mildew. But we will find a way to soothe his anger.” He promised.

The next morning, the storm cleared but dark clouds loomed in the sky.

“Another storm is coming.” Hiccup noted, looking at the sky.

“Thor tore a hole in the Great Hall. Maybe he's hungry?” Tuffnut suggested. “I know I am.”

“We need to make Thor happy. But what do you get the God of Thunder and Lightning?” Hiccup asked.

“In the past, I know Thor's enjoyed a sacrifice or two.” Fishlegs suggested.

“Let's sacrifice Tuffnut!” Ruffnut offered.

Tuffnut didn’t seem bothered by this. “Sure, when will we have it? And there better be fire involved or I’m not in.”

“We could sacrifice Mildew.” Raeda said.

“Like that idea better.” Hicca said.

“Nobody's gonna be sacrificed!” Hiccup said firmly.

“Not yet, anyway.” Snotlout muttered, seeming to agree with Raeda and Hicca.

“I had an aunt who was cursed by Odin once. She had to pay tribute to him by sailing to the end of the Earth.” Astrid said.

“Did it work?” Fishlegs asked.

“I don't know. I guess she couldn't find it, because she kept showing up from the opposite direction.” Astrid answered.

“The Gods have never been mad at anyone from our family.” Fishlegs said. He then proceeded to carry out a few superstitious activities to be on the safe side.

“Knock on wood. Hop on one foot. Slap a Jorgenson.” He was about to raise his hand for the third part, but Snotlout gave him a look as if to dare the Ingerman to slap him. Fishlegs resorted to a light pat on the shoulder. Regardless, Snotlout shoved him aside.

“If I were Thor, I would want a giant statue.” Snotlout said proudly. “Of myself, Snotlout, as Thor!”

“You do know we're trying to make him happy?” Astrid asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Exactly!” Snotlout said, not getting what Astrid is saying.

Astrid pretended to gag. “I think I just threw up in my mouth.”

Hiccup then thought about what Snotlout said. “Actually, that's not a bad idea.”

“It's not an idea, it's a reflex.” Astrid said, misunderstanding Hiccups’ statement.

“What--? No! I-I mean the statue.” Hiccup corrected.

Astrid pretended to gag again. “There I go again.”

“Have you lost it?” Raeda asked, concerned for her other best friends’ sanity.

“Bro, I think you should lie down. You might have a fever or something.” Hicca said,

Hiccup then realised what they were thinking. “No! Not Snotlout! Thor!”

Fishlegs thought about that suggestion. “Hmm, Berk has never given Thor a statue.”

“Well, now we are going to correct that!” Hiccup said. He then turned to Raeda. “Rae, can you start making the design for the statue?”

“Way ahead of you.” Raeda said already taking out her sketchbook and charcoal out of her quiver. She sat down and started making the sketch.

The teens spent rest of the morning and afternoon gathering every piece of iron they could find and thanks to their dragons’ fires, moulded them into different parts of the statue with Hicca and Hiccup supervising the whole thing.

“Okay, guys, we better start welding these pieces together.” Hiccup said after he and his sister saw how the construction was coming along. Finally the statue was made and placed on the podium with a large cloth covering it and the Vikings gathered to see the unveiling of the new statue.

“Yeah, I really think Thor's gonna like this.” Hiccup said, looking at their covered work. His sister nodded in agreement. Hiccup then turned to the crowd. “Attention! Attention everyone! Okay, so, I know we're not exactly Thor's favorite people right now, but I am confident that this beautiful statue will get a long way toward getting us back in his good graces! So, without further ado...” He and Hicca pulled the cloth, revealing the statue and everyone applauded in response.

“Well done!” Stoick praised. “Thor will appreciate this tribute, and will smile upon us once again!”

Mildew, however, was not convinced. “You really think this is enough to appease the mighty Thor, while you allow a Night Fury in your midst?! YOU'RE FOOLS! ALL OF YA!”

Unfortunately, Mildew was proven right as the night came and lightning once again struck the village, more than the previous night. Hiccup, Hicca, Stoick and Gobber watched as lightning struck everywhere.

“Unbelievable. Even more lightning than the last storm.” Hiccup said.

“I don't understand. We gave Thor a giant statue!” Gobber said.

“It seemed to made things worse.” Hicca noted.

Stoick turned to his children. “It was a gallant effort, you two, but it looks as though this is not what Thor wanted.”

Hiccup then noticed Gobber inching away from them. “Gobber, what are you doing?”

“I love Toothless and Midnight but I’d like to be on the safe side.” The blacksmith/dragon dentist admitted sheepishly.

Hicca looked at her mentor in disbelief. “Really, Gobber? I wasn’t expecting this from _you_ of all people!”

Hiccup noticed Toothless and Midnight looking dejected and went to comfort them. “Hey, don't worry, you two. Hicca and I not gonna let anything happen to you, no matter what some people think!” He said this while glaring at Gobber, who looked at the floor.

“That’s right.” Hicca said. “We know for a fact that you guys are not the cause of this and we will figure out what is.”

For now all they could do was watch as lightning continued to strike the village at all possible places.

At the Ingerman Household, Meatlug went upstairs to look for her rider who was hiding under the bed. “I know you're scared, girl.” Fishlegs said meekly as he crawled from under the bed.

_‘I’m not scared.’_

“If you wanna hold me, that's what I'm here for.” He hugged her, ignoring the fact that he was more scared of the lightning than Meatlug.

_‘This is a nice hug.’_

On the rooftop, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were once again admiring the massive fire caused by the lightning.

“Whoa. Look at all that damage and destruction.” Ruffnut said.

“I know. It's so beautiful!” Tuffnut praised.

Another house exploded, to the blonde twins’ delights

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

“Whoa... Nobody blows stuff up like Thor.”

Mildew noticed multiple lightning bolts striking the statue of Thor. “That's what Thor thinks of the statue!” He said gesturing to the statue. “I told you what he wants, and we haven't given it to him! Until we rid this island of those Night Furies, Thor's fire will continue to rain down upon us!” The Vikings shouted their supports and formed a mob. Raeda, who was in the crowd listening, snuck off and ran to the Haddock household.

Hiccup and Hicca were comforting their dragons when Hiccup looked at their father. “Y-- You don't really think Thor is angry because of Toothless and Midnight, do you?” Hicca wore the same hopeful expression.

“Of course I don't.” Stoick said firmly. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt that neither Midnight nor Toothless were the reason behind these storms. Both of them were there for his children, even when he himself wasn’t. How in the world was that a crime? He would be forever in debt of those two Night Furies.

Just then, Raeda came running in from the back door. “Guys! We have a problem!”

“What is it, Rae?” Hiccup asked, concerned.

Before Raeda could answer, there was a loud banging on the front door. “Open up, Stoick! We've come for the Night Furies!” Mildew yelled.

“That.” Raeda said, gesturing to the front door.

“Midnight and Toothless did not do anything wrong. They can’t be shipped off.” Hicca pleaded to her dad.

Stoick put one hand on his daughters’ shoulder. “I know that, dear, but I'm afraid it will be hard to tell that to them. Get Midnight and Toothless to a safe place, I'll try to reason with them.”

The twins did not agree to that plan. Hiccup was ready to protest. “But--”

Stoick cut him off “Just go!”

“Safe travels, my old friends.” Gobber said to his two apprentices.

Reluctantly the twins and Raeda left through the back door as Stoick went to confront the angry mob behind the front door.

“Give up the dragons, Stoick! Look at your people. We've had enough!” Mildew said as soon as the chief opened the door.

“You're too late. They’re gone.” Stoick said.

“Stoick's already sent him off the island.” Gobber added.

The lightning behind them didn’t convince Mildew. “Thor says otherwise. The dragons must still be on the island.” He then turned to the crowd. “Find the Night Furies! Go!” With that the crowd dispersed and the search began.

The three teens and two dragons found Astrid and the four humans tried to come up with a way to keep Midnight and Toothless safe. “We can hide Toothless and Midnight in the cove for now.” Astrid suggested.

“They'll know we will go there and they will find us.” Hiccup said. “No. We have to leave.”

“I had a feeling it would come to that.” Hicca said sadly.

Astrid thought about what Hiccup said and one particular word came to her mind “’We?’”

“Toothless can't make it on his own. And I wouldn't want him to. I'm going with him, Astrid.”

“And like our motto says ‘where one goes, the other follows.’ And Midnight is going with them, so I am not letting these three go off on their own.” Hicca said firmly.

Neither Astrid nor Raeda was happy about this, but both knew that this needed to be done “But you'll come back, right?” Astrid asked hopeful.

“Yeah, we’ll come back when everyone realises that Toothless and Midnight are not responsible for the storms. They can’t think this forever.” Hiccup said.

“It better be soon.” Raeda said, trying to hold back her sadness at her two best human friends leaving.

Hicca started hearing the voices of the angry mob. “They’re getting closer.”

“You guys better go.” Astrid said sadly.

“Be careful. Try not to get yourselves killed out there.” Raeda said.

The twins managed smiles and gave hugs to the two girls before getting on their dragons and flying off. They did so just in time as the mob approached the two girls with Mildew leading.

“Where’re the boy and girl?! And more importantly, where're the dragons?!” The old man demanded.

Astrid brushed away her tears before answering. “We don't know, Mildew, but you got your wish. Hiccup, Hicca, Toothless and Midnight are gone.”

“I hope you’re happy.” Raeda said bitterly.

Yet, despite this, Mildew still couldn’t be satisfied. “Oh, bah! Find the Night Furies! All of you!” He ordered the crowd.

Raeda was outraged by this. “I can’t believe you people! You guys are listening to _Mildew_ of all people! What have Toothless and Midnight done to deserve this?”

That made some of the villagers stop until Mildew spoke up. “Oh sure, we’ll do nothing about it and let those beastly dragons stay until Berk gets burnt to ashes! Come on, let’s go capture those dragons!” That got the mob back and they continued on their hunt for Toothless and Midnight, while Astrid was struggling to keep Raeda from using her bow and arrows against Mildew, though the blonde girl was tempted to let the raven hair girl do it.

Up in the clouds, the Haddock twins and the Night Furies flew through the storm trying to avoid the lightning bolts. However this task was made difficult for Hiccup and Toothless as the lightning seems to be concentrating on the boys for some reason.

“Careful Hiccup!” Hicca shouted to her brother, but it was drowned out by the sound of thunder. Staying together soon proved to be a difficult task for these four as they constantly had to avoid getting struck by lightning. Without anyone realising it, Hicca and Midnight got separated from Hiccup and Toothless and the latter was struck on his prosthetic tail! Unable to control the damaged tail, Hiccup and Toothless could only brace themselves for a crash landing, both hoping that Hicca and Midnight were okay.

Unfortunately the boys’ crash-landing didn’t go unnoticed. “Ah! There they are!” Mildew yelled to the mob, pointing at the duo. The mob quickly made their way to where the boy and dragon landed.

After sustaining a hard impact to the ground, Hiccup got up and went to Toothless. “Whoo...You okay, bud?” Toothless warbled an answer saying that he was okay. Hiccup then got up and searched the skies for his sister and Toothless’ mate when he suddenly saw the lightning striking the village repeatedly. It was then when he noticed something.

“That's where the lightning hit...” Hiccup muttered when he and Toothless saw the lightning only striking the newly-made metal perches. He then saw that the lightning was also striking the statue of Thor. Looking back at Toothless, Hiccup saw the burnt, _metallic_ prosthetic tail. It brought a realisation to him. “The metal! I wonder...”

However, before Hiccup could contemplate any further, Toothless was suddenly captured by the mob! One of the Vikings grabbed Hiccup to stop the boy from trying to rescue his dragon.

“Secure the dragon!” Mildew ordered.

“Toothless! No! Leave him alone!” Hiccup yelled desperately, while struggling against the older Vikings grip.

“Don't try and stop us, you'll only make it worse for your precious dragon.” Mildew sneered.

Hiccup could only stand and watch helplessly as the villagers tied up Toothless and took him away. “Toothless!”

“Say your goodbyes.” Mildew said as he walked away with the mob and the now captured Toothless.

“What about the female dragon?” One of the villagers asked.

“Just keep this one secure and we will get the other one as well. There is no way she will let her _precious_ mate get captured.” Mildew said.

“Toothless!” Hiccup cried. It was only after they left when the older Viking decided to release his hold on Hiccup to join the others, leaving Hiccup to revel on what just happen. “Toothless...”

“Hiccup!” The familiar voice made Hiccup look up and see his sister swooping down with Midnight, right to where Hiccup is standing.

“There you are! We were so worried!” Hicca said as she got off Midnight. She then looked around and noticed the male Night Furys’ absence. “Where’s Toothless?” She asked worriedly. Midnight shared her riders’ worries.

“Toothless got captured by the mob.” Hiccup said. Midnight and Hiccas’ eyes widened. Before either of them could say anything, Hiccup continued. “But listen! I think I have an explanation to the storms and it’s not because of Toothless or Midnight. I need you two to go and stop them from shipping Toothless off long enough for me to get there.”

Hicca nodded and immediately jumped on Midnight. The female Night Fury slit her pupils at the thought of her mate being captured and chained and immediately shot out to the sky, while Hiccup ran back to the village.

At the docks Toothless was chained and muzzled and was about to be shipped off when the chief stepped.

“I know you're afraid. But this isn't how we do things on Berk! These dragons are not the beasts we once thought they were. They're part of us now.” The chief said. He already made the mistake of wrongly sending Toothless and the other dragons off this island once and he was not going to make the same mistake again.

“Not this one! Not anymore!” Mildew protested.

“Release the dragon, Mildew.” Stoick demanded.

“Open your eyes, Stoick. It's the only solution and you know it. It worked with Barnstat and it'll work with Toothless.” The old man pointed out.

At the forge, Hiccup was looking through some equipment when he found what he was looking for.

“Hiccup!” Astrid called from the entrance. With her were Raeda, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout. “They've got Toothless! They're about to float him off to sea.”

“They haven’t got Midnight yet.” Raeda informed him.

“I know. Why do you think I have-“He held up a spear. “-this?”

Tuffnut took it seriously “Oh, tough one. How many guesses do we get? Five?”

Not wanting to waste time explaining it, Hiccup brushed it off. “Oookay... Astrid, fly me to the docks!” He and Astrid got on Stormfly and they flew off.

At the docks, Stoick and Gobber stood between the mob and Toothless. Both men held swords in their hands. “If you want to get to that dragon, you're gonna have to go through us!” Mulch and Bucket pushed through the crowd and stood by Stoick and Gobber. “Thank you, lads.”

Bucket, however, felt a little uneasy looking at the angry mob. “I-If we're choosing sides, Mulch, uh, there's more over there. Lots more.” He pointed out.

“We stand with the Chief, Bucket.” Mulch said firmly.

Before the crowd could come any further, a plasma blast stopped them at their tracks as Midnight and Hicca landed where the four men were standing. Midnight still had her pupils in slits and snarled at the Vikings, daring them to come any further to her and her mate.

“Told you the female dragon would come.” Mildew said, happy at the chance that both dragons will be shipped off.

“Wait hold on!” Hicca pleaded. “Hiccup has an idea on the real cause of the thunderstorm. Wait for him to come, he will explain it. Midnight and Toothless are not the reasons behind this!”

“Bah! This is a trick to rescue you’re precious dragon.” Mildew said, not wanting to wait any longer.

“The only manipulative one here is you, Mildew! And you know it!” Hicca shouted angrily.

“If we delay this any longer, the two Night Furies could escape! We need to get rid of them now!” Mildew yelled to the mob who shouted in agreement. They were getting ready to attack when a blue Deadly Nadder swooped in.

“Stop!” Hiccup yelled before he got off Stormfly. “Stop! You could get rid of Toothless and Midnight, you could throw them off the edge of the world, but it's not going to stop this lighting from destroying Berk.” He said. “It's the metal. The lightning is hitting the metal! Just think about it. We never had a lightning storm like this until we put up those perches, that statue, right? And they're all made of metal!”

Hicca thought about what her brother just said. “The lightning struck the perches first then the houses. It got worse when we made a large statue made of metal.” She muttered.

Mildew, however, was not convinced. “Oh, bah! You ever heard of anything so insane?!” The mob voiced in their agreement.

Hiccup ran to where Toothless was chained and lifted the struck tail. “Y-you see? This is where the lighting struck Toothless, on this connecting rod... this _metal_ connecting rod!” Seeing that the mob was not entirely convinced, Hiccup brought his back-up plan. “Look, if you don't believe me, I can prove it!” He went to where Astrid and Stormfly were and got on. “Fly me up.”

Astrid flew them to the mast of the ship where Toothless would be placed and Hiccup got on the mast with the spear in his hands. “Are you sure you know what you're doing?” Astrid asked worriedly.

“Sure? Uh, that's a strong word. It's really more of a... hunch.” Hiccup admitted, which did not help Astrid at all. “I'll be fine. Go!” Astrid nodded and reluctantly flew Stormfly to the ground.

Hiccas’ eyes widened as she realised what her brother was going to do. “Oh no.”

“Oh, boy, here he goes again...” Gobber muttered.

“He doesn't make it easy.” Stoick commented before shouting to his son. “Hiccup!”

Hiccup ignored his father as he addressed the crowd “You'll all see for yourselves!” He flinched when lightning struck but continued, holding the spear up. “When I attach this metal rod to the top of this mast, the lighting will be drawn to-” He didn’t get to finish that sentence as the lightning struck the spear, electrocuting Hiccup!

“HICCUP!” Stoick and Hicca yelled as they and the rest of the villagers watched in horror.

There were a few gasps and a scream from Hicca when they saw Hiccup unconsciously fall of the mass and into the ocean.

“Son...” Stoick breathed, his eyes widened in shock.

 _‘HICCUP!’_ Toothless roared.

Watching his human fall into the ocean unconscious was the last straw for Toothless as he fought and fought against his chains until he was finally able to break free. As soon as he did he dove into the ocean to rescue Hiccup. Hicca was about to join him when Stoick stopped her, not wanting to see both of his children nearly drown again or worse.

In the ocean, Hiccup remained unconscious as he continued to sink deeper and deeper while Toothless paddled his claws to try to get to his human in time.

Stoick, Gobber, Hicca and Midnight searched the ocean, looking for any signs of Toothless and/or Hiccup. A splash behind them caused them to turn around.

“Hiccup...” Stoick breathed as he saw his son being pulled on deck by Toothless. He, Hicca, Gobber and Midnight went to the pair and Stoick pulled Hiccups’ shoulders to his lap while Hicca shakily checked her brothers’ pulse at his neck. “Son...” Stoick said.

The next day, Hiccup woke up from his bed and saw his sister, Toothless and Midnight in his room. “Hicca! Toothless! Midnight! What happened, guys?” Toothless crooned and nuzzled his rider, happy to see him okay while Hicca immediately went to her brothers’ side.

“Hiccup! Are you okay?” She asked. Hiccup nodded reassuringly. She then put her hand on his left shoulder. “Does this feel sore or bruised?”

“No.” Hiccup said.

“Good.” Hicca said. Before Hiccup could understand what his sister meant, she slapped his left shoulder as hard as she could, which was enough. “Idiot! How many times are you going to give me a heart attack?” Hiccup shrugged meekly as he rubbed his now sore shoulder. He then slowly got out of bed and observed his foot.

“At least I didn't lose another one.” He said moving his right foot.

Stoick then came into the room. “My boy! You're alright!” He said happily, lifting his son in the air before hugging him. He then set him down and rubbed his head. “You took a lightning bolt to the head.”

“Just like Barnstat.” Gobber commented. “Only difference is that we won't be throwing you off the island.”

“So everyone knows Thor wasn't mad at Toothless and Midnight?” Hiccup asked hopefully.

“They do now.” Stoick said.

“And all it took was for you to nearly lose your life, _again_.” Hicca commented with sarcasm. “Plus a really long and terrifying lecture from Raeda. They’ll think twice before doing something like that again.”

“Until we figure out why Thor was angry at the metal, we're all walking on eggshells.” Gobber explained.

The four humans and two dragons went outside and saw some of the villagers taking down the statue of Thor.

“Oh, we worked so hard on that statue.” Hiccup sighed. “Kind of a shame we have to just scrap it for parts.”

“It’s a waste.” Hicca said.

“Well, maybe we don't have to put it to waste.” Stoick said. “Why don't you two take it to one of the high points on the island and leave it there?”

Tuffnut and Snotlout heard what the chief said and walked up to him. “Good idea, Chief! I would've thought of it myself, but I'm not the Chief.” Tuffnut said.

“Oh, we'll handle that for you.” Snotlout said.

“What are you guys up to?” Hicca said, noticing the mischievous look in their eyes.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, cuz.” Snotlout said innocently, a bit _too_ innocently.

Mildew was eating porridge when a loud thump outside his house got his attention. He got up to check, accidently tripping on Fungus the Sheep. Grumbling, he got up and walked to the door to see the statue of Thor right in front of his house. Before he could understand what was happening, a rope that was tied onto the statue dropped from above and onto Mildew as he looked up and saw Hiccup, Hicca, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Ruffnut on their dragons.

“Enjoy your new statue Mildew. It’s a gift from us to you.” Hicca said smugly before she and the others flew off.

“And if you don’t like it, you’re very welcome to move it away yourself.” Raeda said in a sweet voice.

“You'll pay for this!” Mildew shouted at the retreating dragon riders.

“We doubt it!” The two girls sang back.

Hiccup looked back at the house and felt a little uneasy. “I'm not sure that's what our dad had in mind, guys.” He said to Snotlout and Tuffnut.

“Hey, that's the way I understood it.” Snotlout said.

“Dad did say ‘one of the high points’.” Hicca told her brother.

**_No matter how much things change around here Vikings are still Vikings. They're not afraid to admit when they're wrong._ **

At the Haddock household, Vikings brought various gifts for Toothless and Midnight. It was clear that they all felt guilty for accusing the two Night Furies and wanted to apologise. Midnight and Toothless happily accepted the apologies, especially when a little girl fed them both fishes and patted them on their heads.

**_And when they do, watch out! Cause you'll be up to your ears in pie and smoked fish._ **

Later that night, another storm came, but this time it only struck the statue which was the only thing that contained metal. The statue redirect the lightning bolt to Mildews’ house and the old man screamed in pain as he got struck.

Outside, Fungus could hear the screams and see the house getting struck but he merely bleated in response as his master faced karma. ‘He’ll survive, unfortunately.’ The sheep thought.


	15. What Flies Beneath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new dragon comes to Berk that has Toothless and Midnight on the edge. What happens when the teens find out the wild dragon has a history with the two Night Furies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers, it has been so long. I'm really sorry for that. The truth is that I've been more focused on getting stories on fanfiction.net rather than ao3. But now I will make sure to get all my stories completed here as well.

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 15: What Flies Beneath**

It's night time at Berk and everyone is fast asleep. Everything is peaceful...until a yak suddenly falls underground, followed by several sheeps. Suddenly cracks start to appear on the ground.

**_Everybody has a past, even dragons. And sometimes, the past can come back to haunt them._ **

Toothless suddenly wakes up from his sleep as he senses a familiar presence.

_'_ _He's back!'_

His pupils turn into slits as he growls at the ground, waking Hiccup in the process. "Ugh, Toothless, go back to sleep." Hiccup said, tired and annoyed, before he went back to sleep. Toothless continued to stare at the ground.

In Hiccas' room, Midnight sensed the same thing as she woke up. Instead of feeling agitated like her mate was, she was rather worried. Being careful not to wake her rider, Midnight flew out the window and went to the window at Hiccups' room, knowing her mate would be awake. Toothless saw his mate outside and, knowing what she was here for, climbed out of the window and onto the roof where Midnight joined him. The two Night Furies then started having their own conversation.

_'_ _Did you sense him to?'_ Toothless asked his mate.

_'_ _I did. But Toothless, listen to me, you can't go after him again.'_ Midnight pleaded.

_'_ _Are you kidding me?! After what he did he had the audacity to even show his face! I will be ending this once and for all.'_ Toothless growled.

_'_ _That's what I'm afraid of.'_

**_And when it does, you're gonna need to be there for them._ **

The next morning, Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless go outside to see the villagers gathered around the plaza looking at something. When they got closer to join their dad and Gobber, they saw a large hole made on the ground. Some of the Vikings were talking to one another, wondering how a hole that big was made overnight. Toothless got closer to the hole and started growling angrily at it for some reason, while Midnight shrunk back from the hole. Hicca and Hiccup noticed their dragons' behaviours.

"Midnight, what's wrong girl? Are you okay?" Hicca asked worriedly.

"Whoa, hey! Come on, why are you growling at it it's just a hole, bud." Hiccup said, while pulling his dragon back.

"It's not just a hole!" A voice called out from inside the hole "It's like an underground village!" Hiccup, Hicca, Stoick and Gobber looked down and saw Bucket in the bottom of the hole, revealing it to be a tunnel.

Hearing his friends' voice, Mulch immediately went to the hole. "Bucket! There you are. I've been lookin' for you all night!"

"Sorry, Mulch. But I think I finally found it: My happy place!" Bucket said happily.

He spoke too soon as something in the passage of the tunnel sped in and made the unfortunate farmer/fisherman fly right out of the hole!

Stoick, Gobber and Mulch ran to Bucket as he crashed to the ground.

"Are you alright, Bucket?" The chief asked.

"I don't feel happy anymore." Bucket said sadly.

"What happened?"

"Something pushed me out! There's something down there. Something big and scary!"

That got the villagers worried.

Toothless growls again and before Hiccup could stop him, the dragon jumped down the hole. Midnight gave a warbled worriedly and shrank further back from the hole as Hicca tried to comfort her dragon.

A sudden sound gets everyones' attention.

"What is that sound?" Astrid asked worriedly.

"Eh, whatever it is, it's giving me the willies." Gobber said worriedly.

"I have a feeling we're about to find out what it is." Raeda said getting her bow and arrow ready just in case.

Suddenly a snake-like dragon with a spine covered body and sharp rotating teeth shot out of the hole and hovers over the Vikings.

"Whoooooaaaaa, look at the size of that thing!" Snotlout exclaimed in awe.

"I really don't want to!" Fishlegs gulped.

"Everyone! Get to your dragons!" Astrid commanded.

All the teens, except for Hiccup as Toothless was still in the hole, got on their dragons and the new dragon started glaring at the dragon riders.

"Uh, I don't like the way it's eyeballing me." Snotlout said nervously.

"Uh, don't worry you're not the only one who feels like that." Fishlegs said, equally or more nervous.

"Thanks, I feel so much better!" Snotlout said with sarcasm.

The wild dragon then dived back into the ground.

"What... was... that?" Astrid asked shocked at the sight of the new dragon.

"Whatever it was, I want one!" Tuffnut exclaimed excitedly.

"If I had to take a guess, I'd say that was a _Whispering Death_." Fishlegs announced.

"Whoa, great name. So much better than Zippleback." Tuffnut whispered covering Belchs' ears so that the dragon wouldn't hear the last part. The male Thorston apparently forgot about Barf and the dragon started plotting ways to get back at him for that comment.

Bucket got scared by the Whispering Death and stood on a barrel for safety. "Where'd it go? Why's it here? What's it gonna do to us?!" He then turned to Mulch. "WHY AREN'T YOU SLAPPING ME TO SNAP ME OUT OF THIS?!"

"Because I'm scared, too, Bucket." Mulch said meekly as he stood on another barrel next to Bucket.

The Whispering Death re-emerges from the ground, making a new hole.

_'_ _Where is he?!'_ The Whispering Death roared.

"Ah, it looks angry. Why don't you do that think where you touch its nose and feed it grass?" Gobber suggested to the teens.

"Oh, yeah Gobber good idea. We will definitely try those methods on a hostile new dragon with six rows of rotating teeth." Hicca said sarcastically.

"Uh, Fishlegs, what do we know about the Whispering Death?" Hiccup asked the dragon encyclopaedia.

"Boulder Class; Razor sharp teeth, incredibly strong, hunts from underground." Fishlegs stated.

"Now I _really_ want one!" Tuffnut said enthusiastically.

"So, how do we deal with this thing?" Snotlout asked.

Just then Stoick came flying on Thornado "Stand back, everyone!" He commanded. "Thornado's got something to say to this beast!" Thornado gave a loud roar to the Whispering Death but the boulder class dragon quickly roars back, unaffected.

"I don't think it's got its listening ears on." Gobber pointed out.

"Alright, let's run this thing out of here!" Astrid said with determination. Sparkfire, Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug and Barf and Belch all flew up and joined the chief and the Thunderdrum. Midnight, however, stayed on the ground, refusing to make eye-contact with the Whispering Death, much to her riders' confusion.

"Midnight, what's wrong? Is everything alright?" Hicca asked worriedly. She tried to get Midnight to fly up to join the others, but the female Night Fury simply refused.

Raeda noticed this. "Hicca, what's going on?" She called, getting the others' attention.

"I don't know. Midnight refuses to even look at the Whispering Death." Hicca answered.

"What, how come?" Astrid asked confused.

Hiccup noticed something. "She's been acting like that ever since we saw the hole."

Before anyone could say anything else, Toothless emerges from the hole and started growling at the other dragons, as if telling them to back off.

"What is Toothless doing?!" Snotlout asked confused.

"I think he wants us to back off." Astrid guessed.

"No problem here." Fishlegs said, happy to get out of confronting the terrifying dragon. All the other dragons landed on the ground

"Toothless!" Hiccup called to his dragon.

_'_ _Toothless! Please don't!'_ Midnight warbled to her mate but Toothless ignored it and kept his eyes on the Whispering Death. The two dragons started to fight, but it became clear that Toothless was at a disadvantage as the male Night Fury was unable to get airborne.

Hiccup noticed this "Toothless can't fly without me! He's a sitting duck!"

"Gobber, man the catapults, and when that thing is clear of Toothless, Fire!" Stoick ordered.

"Dad, wait!" Hiccup called before going to Toothless. "Just let me help you, bud." He tried to mount Toothless, but strangely Toothless won't let him. Hiccup was really shocked and confused by this. Toothless had never _not_ allow Hiccup to get on him, especially when Hiccup is the only way that the dragon can be airborne. "What? Toothless, wha-what's wrong?" Instead, Toothless ignores Hiccup and continues to fight against the Whispering Death.

"What was that all about?" Astrid asked.

"I have no idea." Hiccup said.

"This is really strange. Toothless has never acted like this before." Raeda said.

The Whispering Death then attacks Toothless with its' spine. One of the razor-sharp spine hits Toothless on his leg!

"Gobber!" Stoick shouted. Gobber immediately fired a boulder from one of the catapults at the Whispering Death, causing the dragon to retreat to the ground, carving a new path underground.

Hiccup immediately ran to Toothless "Oh, no, you're hurt!" He pulled the spine out of Toothless' leg and beckoned for his twin to come over. However, before Hicca could reach them, Toothless immediately runs away.

"Toothless, wait!" Hiccup called, with Midnight echoing that plea. The male Night Fury, however, ignored both of them.

"Where's he going?" Astrid asked.

"Probably running away to lick his wounds." Snotlout said, laughing.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "It's not funny! He could've been killed. He can't fly, remember?"

"And whose fault is that?" Snotlout pointed out.

"Seriously, did you just go there?" Astrid said, crossing her arms.

"Hey, I call it like I see it." Snotlout said.

"Watch it, Snotlout." Raeda threatened, glaring through Snotlout eyes. This caused the Jorgenson boy to shrink back.

"Um, does anyone want to talk about what in the name of Thor just happened?" Fishlegs wondered.

"Uh, dragon fight?" Tuffnut answered. "Like that's never happened on Berk before."

"Uh, not really. It seemed like there was way more to it than that." Fishlegs pointed out.

"He's right. The Whispering Death singled Toothless out." Hiccup noted.

"And Toothless wanted that dragon all to himself." Astrid added.

"Yeah, he certainly did. But why?" Hiccup wondered.

"Also Midnight seemed terrified of that dragon." Hicca said looking at her dragon, who was worriedly looking at the path where her mate ran off.

"I've never seen her frightened before." Raeda commented. "What was it about that dragon that set those two off like that?"

"Uh, are we going to be tested on this, because I'm completely confused." Tuffnut said, looking at his twin.

"Well, don't look at me. I'm equally confused." Ruffnut said equally confused.

Eventually Toothless came back and went back with Midnight, Hiccup and Hicca to Hiccups' room, where Hicca treated the male Night Furys' wound.

"Almost done. A little rest is all you need, bud." Hicca said.

Hiccup sighed "I-I really wish you and Midnight could just tell us what was going on out there today."

"At times like these, knowing Dragonese would be really helpful." Hicca said.

"Is there a thing as Dragonese?" Hiccup asked.

Hicca shrugged. "These dragons have to have some way of communicating, don't they?"

_'_ _That's right.'_ Midnight warbled.

They were then interrupted when Toothless started growling at the footsteps from the stairs, while Midnight flinched and shrunk back. The door to Hiccups' room opened revealing to be Stoick. Hiccup and Hicca immediately tried to soothe their dragons.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy, bud. It's just our dad."

"It's alright, girl. There's no danger."

"How's our wounded warrior?" Stoick asked referring to Toothless.

"The wound wasn't too deep, luckily. I wrapped it up. He just needs to rest the leg for a while and he will be alright." Hicca said, packing her medical supplies.

"He's still a little on edge, though." Hiccup added.

"And our other warrior?" This time Stoick was referring to Midnight.

"She's better now that the Whispering Death is gone, but she is still on edge as well." Hicca said.

Stoick looked at both the Night Furies. "Don't worry, Toothless and Midnight. I think we showed that dragon a thing or two about uninvited guests on Berk. I don't think he'll be coming back any time soon. At least I hope not." With that he left the room.

"Yeah, me too." Hiccup said.

"Alright, all done." Hicca said lightly patting the bandaged area. "That should do it. bud. You just need to take it easy." She then got up. "Well Midnight and I are going to sleep. Hopefully we won't see that Whispering Death tomorrow."

"Yeah, hopefully."

The Haddock twins wished each other good night and Hicca and Midnight left to go to sleep, while Toothless went to lie down on his rock slab and Hiccup goes to his bed. As soon as Hiccup falls asleep, however, Toothless gets up, makes sure that his rider is fast asleep and then flies out the window.

Midnight stayed awake, having a strong feeling she knew what her mate was going to do. As soon as her rider fell asleep, the female Night Fury flew out the window and checked in on Hiccups' room. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the dragon-less room.

_'_ _Oh, Toothless.'_ With a sigh, she set out to search for her mate, desperately hoping that she wouldn't run into the Whispering Death again. Not after what happened last time she confronted that dragon alone...

Midnight shuddered at that. She was tempted to wake up her rider and take her to the search. Ever since and Toothless formed their friendship with Hicca and Midnight, they rarely fly without their humans. While Toothless wants to need Hiccup to be able to fly, Midnight always preferred to fly with Hicca as if she needed her as well. That's how strong their bond has gotten. The female Night Fury decided against waking her human up, she needed her rest. With that, she continued on her path to look for her mate.

The next morning, Hiccup woke up with a face-plant to the floor. "Seriously Hicca?!"

"Toothless and Midnight are gone!" Hicca said, deciding to get to the point.

"W-what?" Hiccup asked, eyes growing wide.

"They're gone." Hicca repeated. "I woke up and Midnight was not there as she usually was. I thought she might have gone to Toothless in your room, but neither of them is here. I looked all over the house and no sign of either of them! Not even on the roof!"

As Hiccup processed what his sister just told him, he realised where their dragons went. "They went after him... by themselves." Knowing exactly who Hiccup was referring to as 'him', Hicca became even more worried.

They wasted no time in gathering the other teens and their dragons to the Academy and quickly explained what happened.

"Maybe Toothless and Midnight just went for a morning flight?" Snotlout sneered. "Oh, that's right... Toothless CAN'T! Only Midnight can."

Astrid glared at him. "Really? You're going there again? Now?!"

Raeda calmly walked behind Snotlout and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. As soon as the Jorgenson boy turned to face her, Raeda knocked him out cold!

Tuffnut and Ruffnut were happy to see this and cheered on Raeda.

"That was awesome!"

"Wake him up and do it again!"

Hiccup brought them back to the crisis. "Toothless and Midnight must be looking for the Whispering Death. We find it, we find them."

"What do we do if we find the Whispering Death first?" Fishlegs asked.

"Well, we train him." Hiccup answered.

"Just like we do with every other wild dragon we see." Hicca added.

"You know he's got 'death' in his name, right?" Tuffnut pointed out.

Hiccup ignored the male Thorston and turned to Fishlegs "Fishlegs, is there anything about the Whispering Death in the Book of Dragons that can help us?"

"It can shoot razor sharp spines from any part of its body." Fishlegs stated.

"And how's that gonna help us?" Astrid asked.

"Well, it would help if we stayed away from those." Fishlegs answered.

"Or we can get near them and use Ruffnut as a human shield!" Tuffnut suggested. Ruffnut did not take the comment kindly and gave her twin a sharp kick to the knee. "OW! MY KNEE CAP!" Tuffnut shouted. His expression then changed. "That's new... I like it."

"This Dragon must have a weakness..." Hiccup said.

"Actually, no. Yeah, it says right here: 'no known weaknesses'." Fishlegs said, pointing to the Whispering Death chapter in the book.

"Ha, I really love this thing." Tuffnut said.

"That could change when we confront this dragon." Raeda pointed out.

Hiccup and Hicca were on edge for their dragons well-being "Okay, great, uh, can we go now, please? We don't know how much time we have." Hiccup said.

"I'm with Hiccup." Hicca said. It was clear that both of them were worried about their dragons.

"Don't worry, guys. We'll find them." Astrid reassured the Haddock twins.

The seven teens got on their dragons and Hicca noticed Snotlout still lying on the floor, unconscious. "Uh guys? What do we do about Snotlout?"

"Leave him here with a note. He and Hookfang will catch up eventually." Raeda answered.

"Rae, we can't do that. There's a chance they can run into the Whispering Death without us."

Raeda didn't seem bothered by this. "And that would be bad because..." Hiccup just gave her a stern look. As much as he and Hicca couldn't stand their cousin, they couldn't let him be in danger. Knowing that look, Raeda gave in. "Fine." She gave a whistle to Hookfang, who looked at her. "Hookfang, pick up Snotlout and follow us." Hookfang obliged with no hesitation and picked up his rider by his tunic with his mouth.

The dragon riders were in the air searching for any signs of the Night Furies or the Whispering Death. Snotlout eventually woke up and immediately demanded to be put on the saddle. Hookfang, however, refused after seeing Raeda shook her head in response so that Jorgenson boy could do nothing but grumbled with his arms crossed as he hung from his dragons' mouth.

They flew over the forest when Hiccup spotted a few holes in the ground. "There, down below." He pointed. And the seven dragons landed on the ground (with Snotlout relieved as Hookfang finally let go of him).

Hiccup and Hicca started calling for their dragons.

"Toothless?! Toothless?!"

"Midnight?! Midnight?!"

"How do we even know the Whispering Death made these holes?" Snotlout asked.

"So you think it might be the other 2,500 pound, rock eating Dragon we're following?" Astrid countered.

Snotlout didn't seem to get the sarcasm. "I know what you're- Don't try to confuse me."

Hiccup found something on the ground. "Look at this...?" He picked it up and saw that it was a dragons' tooth, a Whispering Deaths' tooth to be precise. "He must've lost a tooth."

"Is it sharp? If it is I want it! I like sharp!" Tuffnut said excitedly.

"Yeah, sharp is good!" Ruffnut agreed.

"Think about this: hundreds of those spinning together, ripping through dirt and tree roots. Discarding rock like it's not even there!" Fishlegs commented fearfully.

Suddenly all the dragons started acting up, to their riders' confusion.

"Stormfly, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Barf, settle down!"

"Sparkfire, what's going on?"

Hiccup then heard something and shushed all of them. "Stop! Listen..."

There was a moment of silence until Tuffnut decided to break it. "Listen for what?!"

"I don't hear anything. What are we listening for?!" Ruffnut asked.

"Be quiet!" Astrid hissed.

The Thorston twins still didn't take the hint. "How are we supposed to hear anything over her yelling-?" Tuffnut asked.

"Shhh!"

Fishlegs eyes grew wide with panic and fear. "The whisper..."

The ground started shaking violently and the teens immediately knew what was going on.

"Looks like we beat Toothless and Midnight." Snotlout said nervously.

"Yay." Raeda said, preparing her bow and arrows.

"Yeah... we win..." Astrid said with a hint of fear.

"I'm not feeling like a winner!" Fishlegs said becoming more and more scared.

The Whispering Death emerges from the ground and starts to growl at Fishlegs. "Hi... um... I like the teeth..." The Ingerman boy said meekly, hoping to avoid getting eaten by the dragon. The Whispering Death then burrows back underground.

"I hate it when he does that!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Can you at least tell me why he does it?!"

"I wish I knew Snotlout." Raeda said while she scanned the ground.

Fishlegs, still recovering from the shock of having the terrifying dragon near him, offered an explanation. "Maybe to hunt...?" When he saw the other teens looking at him, he offered more explanations. "Maybe because it's cooler...? Maybe to look for water...?" Fishlegs started losing his cool when he saw that the others will still looking at him. "AND MAYBE BECAUSE HE CAN'T STAND THE PRESSURE OF EVERYBODY ALWAYS EXPECTING HIM TO HAVE THE ANSWERS!"

"He's losing it." Tuffnut whispered to his sister.

"I know...it's awesome." Ruffnut whispered back.

The Whispering Death then emerges from the ground again.

"Somebody hold it still. I wanna pet it!" Tuffnut said walking towards the dragon. Ruffnut held him back.

"Don't do it unless you want to lose her hand." Hicca warned. She noticed that Tuffnut was still trying to get close to the dragon. "Tuffnut don't!"

Astrid turned to Hiccup "Do you and Hicca actually have a plan, or are you two just trying to get yourselves killed?"

"If we can train it, it'll leave Toothless and Midnight alone..." Hiccup said confidently while his sister nodded in agreement.

"Right, so in other words, you two are trying to get yourself killed?" Snotlout asked.

The Whispering Death then charges towards Hicca and Hiccup. The auburn twins decided to take a chance and hold one hand each out in front of the dragon. This caused the Whispering Death to stop and sniff both of their hands before retreating back to the ground again. Hiccup and Hicca both stared at the ground.

"Okay." Hiccup muttered.

"That didn't really work." Hicca commented. They both shared a look and immediately knew what they were going to do.

Astrid knew as well. "Um, I know what you're both thinking, and the answer's no."

The Haddock twins ignored her and jumped down the hole, much to the blonde girls' annoyance.

"Why do they always do that?" Astrid asked annoyed.

"Cause they're Hiccup and Hicca." Raeda answered, knowing her best human friends well. "Honestly you shouldn't be surprised by that. I knew sooner or later they would be jumping down that hole."

Astrid looked at the Henderson girl. "You're going to join them aren't you?" In response, Raeda simply jumped down the hole to join her two best friends. "Of course." Astrid sighed.

Fishlegs slowly walked towards the hole, careful not to fall in. "Oh, man. I am _so_ glad I'm not down there with him right now." He said. Unfortunately for the poor Ingerman boy, Snotlout decided to change that by pushing Fishlegs down the hole. "Oops." Snotlout snickered as he heard Fishlegs screamed.

Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda turned to see Fishlegs with them. "Thanks, Fishlegs. I kinda figured you'd be the last one to volunteer." Hiccup said, unaware that Fishlegs was here against his will.

"Yeah, I get why Raeda would join us but I wasn't expecting you to." Hicca said.

"Yeah! I didn't want you three to have to face that thing all by yourselves." Fishlegs lied while getting up.

"Snotlout pushed you in, didn't he?" Raeda asked knowingly.

"Yes." Fishlegs admitted. Raeda just gave him a sympathetic look.

Hiccup looked around and saw numerous tunnels. "This things been busy."

"He must have spent the whole day making these." Hicca commented. "Maybe Toothless and Midnight are here looking for him."

"Quick question: why are we down here again?" Fishlegs asked, wanting to get out of here.

"Well Hiccup and I are here to find that dragon and hopefully our dragons, Raedas' here to help us and you're here because Snotlout forced you and you have no way of getting out without us." Hicca answered.

"This is where it spends all of its time." Hiccup stated. "There's gotta be something down here that can help us."

They then saw a familiar figure move along the tunnels. "There it goes, let's follow it guys." Hiccup moved to that direction followed by Hicca and Raeda, but Fishlegs stayed where he was.

"Oh, you were talking to us...?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

"No, he was talking to the walls." Raeda said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

"We better hurry up before we lose sight of the dragon." Hicca said.

"Fishlegs, come on, new dragon, you love this stuff!" Hiccup pointed out.

Knowing that was true, Fishlegs reluctantly followed them. "I hate that fact about me!" He grumbled.

The four of them walked through the maze of tunnels, all of them on high alert for any type of movement. They then reached a tunnel where they saw a pair of eyes staring back at them. Raeda was about to fire an arrow it the figure when Hicca stopped her. "Not the best place to have the Whispering Death to go on a rampage." She whispered to her.

Luckily for them, those eyes actually belonged to a sheep that must have fallen in the hole made by the dragon. The four teens watched as the sheep walked away (with Raeda wondering if they could take the sheep with them). They continued on their walk when they saw the Whispering Death coming from another tunnel. Quickly, the teens squeezed in to a gap at the side of the tunnel just as the Whispering Death slithered past them. They held their breaths when they saw the dragon pause. Fishlegs then noticed how the Whispering Death growled when it spotted sunlight shining through one of the holes and avoided it..

"Guys, did you see-?" He was cut off when Hiccup put a hand on the chubby blondes' mouth.

"Can it wait?" Hiccup whispered as Raeda and Hicca shushed them. They watched as the Whispering Death slithered by. "Let's just hope it keeps going..."

The Whispering Death then paused in its' track. "How'd that work out for us?" Fishlegs asked raising his eyebrows.

"It won't work well if you guys keep whispering!" Raeda hissed.

Hicca then noticed something on the Whispering Deaths' tail and nudged her brother and friends, showing them what she saw. The three teens saw enough of it, before the dragon slithered away.

"Did you see that?!" Fishlegs asked.

"Was that a bite mark?" Hiccup asked.

"It looks familiar." Hicca said.

"That's because it's not just any bite mark, that's a _Night Fury_ bite mark." Fishlegs said. "I think I know why this dragon and Toothless are looking for each other."

"And why Midnight fears this dragon." Hicca added.

"They've met before." Raeda stated.

"They have a history." Hiccup said.

"A grudge." Fishlegs added.

"If that's true, how long do dragons carry a grudge?" Hiccup asked.

"To the death..." Fishlegs answered fearfully.

"I really hope we're proven wrong here." Hicca said worriedly.

Hiccup checked to see that the path is cleared and then turned to the others. "Let's get out of here before it comes back."

"That is a really good idea." Fishlegs said as they ran back to the path they took. Unfortunately for them, the Whispering Death spotted the teens in its' tunnels and charged after them!

Above the ground, Astrid Snotlout and the Thorston twins looked down the hole, searching for any signs of the Haddock twins, Raeda and Fishlegs.

"They've been down there forever." Astrid said worriedly. She was relieved when she heard footsteps. "Hiccup! Hicca! Raeda! Fishlegs!"

"Yep, right here." Hiccup replied as the four of them came to the hole.

"Did you see the Whispering Death? Was it cool?" Tuffnut asked excitedly.

"Did you touch it?" Ruffnut asked, equally excited.

"I wanna touch it!"

"Can we talk about this later?" Fishlegs asked nervously, looking back. "We really need to get out of this hole!"

"Yeah, you do." Astrid agreed.

"I second that." Raeda said.

"Hicca, Raeda ladies first." Hiccup said, cupping his hands together. Fishlegs did the same and Raeda stepped on his hand allowing Fishlegs to lift her out of there while Ruffnut grabbed her hand to pull her out. Hiccup did the same with his sister and Astrid pulled her out.

"You guys better hurry out of here." Hicca said to her brother before Astrid pulled her out.

Hiccup then turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs, you're next."

"No argument here." Fishlegs said as he stepped on Hiccups' hand so that the latter can lift him out. Astrid then took Fishlegs hand and pulled him out as well.

As soon as Fishlegs was out, Astrid and Hicca both held out their hands so that Hiccup could grabbed them.

"Hiccup, hurry!"

"Come on, bro!"

Hiccup jumps and tries to catch their hands. He was successful for a second before his hands slipped away.

"I can't reach!" Hiccup shouted.

"Don't say that, bro! You can! Just jump a little higher!" Hicca shouted back, starting to worry for her brother.

"Hiccup! Just... a little more!" Astrid encouraged.

"I'm trying!" Hiccup said desperately. He turned around and saw the Whispering Death charging right at him! Knowing he couldn't get out of there in time, Hiccup closed his eyes and prepared for the impact "Everyone stand back!" The seven teens ran back, with Astrid dragging a reluctant Hicca away from there and a second later Hiccup was flying out of the hole and into the air! "WHOOAAA!"

"HICCUP!" Hicca yelled, her eyes widening with fear for her brother.

"Wow, I bet he can see our house from up there." Tuffnut commented.

"Hiccup was then starting to fall with the Whispering Death ready to catch him with its teeth!

"Stormfly!" Astrid commanded. Stormfly immediately understood what her rider wanted her to do and flew to catch Hiccup, while Raeda fired an arrow at the Whispering Death to distract it. It worked as Stormfly caught Hiccup in time and took him to the ground.

"Thanks Astrid and Raeda." Hiccup said, recovering from his shock as Hicca immediately hugged her brother in relief.

The Whispering Death then glared at the eight teens

"I don't think he likes you in its hole..." Tuffnut said.

"Really what was your first clue?" Raeda asked sarcastically.

"Well, the fact that the dragon looks like he wants murder all of us." Tuffnut answered missing the sarcasm in Raedas' question.

"Can we get out of here! Please?" Snotlout begged, an action which he will deny doing in the future.

"No." Hiccup said firmly. "I know we can train this thing. Anybody got some Dragon Nip?" As a response he got an armful of Dragon Nip. He slowly walked towards the dragon. Not wanting her brother to do this alone, Hicca turned to the others.

"I need Dragon Nip as well." She immediately got them and went to her brothers' side.

"Don't be afraid..." Hiccup said calmly to the hostile dragon. "We're friends. Here-" He and Hicca held out the Dragon Nip. "You'll love this. All the dragons love this."

"They are always ecstatic to see this. It has a really nice smell of garlic." Hicca added.

However, as soon as the Whispering sniffed the Dragon Nip, it sneezed the scented grass towards the other dragons, making them swoon blissfully at the scent.

"Oh, great. Now we're defenceless." Snotlout complained.

"Any ideas? I'm throwing it wide-open to the group." Hiccup said as he pulled his sister away from the dragon.

For once, Snotlout came up with a good plan. "I got an idea... RUN!" With that, the teens ran as fast as they could, with all plans to train the dragon thrown away. The Whispering Death started chasing the group, catching up to Hicca who tripped up.

Hiccup saw his sister fall. "Hicca!" He shouted. He took his dagger out and stood in front of Hicca, staring at the dragon in the eyes. Before the Whispering Death could attack either of them, it was suddenly tackled by Toothless!

"Toothless!" Astrid shouted, surprised and relieved to see the male Night Fury there.

Hicca then saw another familiar dragon running towards them. "Midnight!" She immediately ran to her dragons' side and hugged her neck. "Oh, you and Toothless had us so worried girl. Don't ever do that again." Midnight warbled an apology and accepted the hug.

Toothless chased the Whispering Death away, but couldn't do much on foot. Hiccup tries to mount him to help, but Toothless once again doesn't let him. "Hey, bud. It's me. I know what's going on with you and that other dragon." Hiccup said. "Let me help you." Toothless once again ignores him and runs off. "Toothless, come back!" Hiccup shouted running after his dragon. To everyones' shock, even his mate, Toothless actually fires a plasma blast near Hiccup feet, clearly telling him not to follow.

Midnight roared at her mate, only to have him roar back before he ran off after the Whispering Death.

"Awkward..." Tuffnut said before Raeda punched him in the face. "Ow!"

"What do we do now?" Hicca asked.

"Well it's clear that Toothless wants to confront this dragon alone." Hiccup said, still surprise that Toothless would actually fire a blast at him. "Maybe we should give him space. If he's not back by the end of the day, we'll go looking for him again."

Seeing that as the only option, the teens got on their dragons, with Hiccup riding on Midnight with Hicca, when Hicca noticed something on Midnight. "W-what's this?"

"What's what?" Hiccup asked, looking at his sister.

"Hiccup, look at this." Hicca said pointing to the lower left side of Midnights' back, between her front paw and her hind paw . Midnight made no move to stop either of them. _'They might as well know what is causing Toothless to act the way he is.'_ Hiccup squint his eyes to see where his sister was pointing at and was surprised as well.

"Those are-"

"Teeth marks." Hicca finished for her brother. Sure enough, if anyone looked closely, they would see that Midnight indeed has a barely noticeable bite mark. "And it looks like two rows of teeth. I can't believe I never noticed this before." She then walked to face Midnight. "It was that dragon that did this to you wasn't it?" Knowing that Hicca was referring to the Whispering Death, Midnight nodded her head.

Hiccup walked up to join his sister. "You had a run-in with that dragon long before you met us and it ended with you getting that bite mark. That's why Toothless has a grudge against that dragon, right?"

"And that's why you're scared of it." Hicca finished. Midnight nodded at both of them. The female Night Fury still remembered her encounter with that wild dragon. She was fighting a losing battle until her mate flew to her at the right time.

"He's definitely not going to let that dragon go." Hiccup concluded.

"Should we go help him?" Raeda asked.

"He's just going to push us away again." Hiccup said, remembering the plasma blast. "I really don't want to do this, but this is something between Toothless and the Whispering Death. We'll just get in the way."

So the teens flew off and headed back to Berk.

"So Toothless has an arch-enemy." Snotlout said, turning to Hiccup. "Kind of like you and me."

"Snotlout! You're not my arch-enemy!" Hiccup said.

"Well, you're mine!" Snotlout said, giving the 'I'm watching you' gesture.

"What about me, Snotlout?" Hicca asked.

"We'll you're his twin and a female version of him so you're my arch-enemy as well." He repeated to same gesture to his other cousin as well.

Astrid noticed Hiccups' dejected look "He's just trying to protect you." Astrid said, referring to Toothless.

"That's not what it is!" Snotlout argued. "Toothless doesn't want you around because this is between him and the other guy. He's a fighter. Like me. Not... whatever you and Hicca are."

Hiccup was about to come up with a retort when he realised something. "I... never thought I'd say this, Snotlout, but I think you're right."

Everyone, even Snotlout, was surprised by this. "Wait... huh? You guys heard that, right?"

"How is he right?" Hicca asked.

"It's not a fair fight!" Hiccup explained. "If Toothless is gonna win, he has to fly. And he can't fly without me!"

"So, what are you saying?" Astrid asked.

"I'm saying we need to find him. And soon."

Hicca decided to trust her brothers' judgement and had Midnight turn around, followed by the other teens and their dragons.

In the forest, Toothless runs through the trees, his eyes slit as he searches for the Whispering Death. He was determined to make that dragon pay for harming his mate.

Hiccup spotted him from above. "There he is! Get me down there." Hicca complied and had Midnight land close to where Toothless was sniffing around for the Whispering Death. Hiccup slowly approaches Toothless with his hand stretched out. Seeing Hiccup, Toothless' pupils dilated and he finally touches his nose to Hiccups' hand. Hiccup sighed in relief. "Hey, bud. You had me so worried there for a while. You haven't been yourself lately. Good to see you're still you."

The reunion was cut short when the Whispering Death emerges from the ground, causing Toothless to growl. "You can just walk away from this, bud!" Hiccup said. "Midnight doesn't have a grudge on this dragon. She's really concerned for you. Let's just go home-" Hiccups' pleas were in vain as Toothless once again pushes his rider away and chases after the dragon.

"You were so close. I thought you had him!" Fishlegs said.

Toothless tried to fly towards the Whispering Death and shoot plasma blasts at it, but it had no effect and the male Night Fury was knocked backwards by the Whispering Death.

"He needs our help." Hiccup said to the others. The teens got on their dragons and prepared to confront the dragon, but the dragons stopped when Toothless roared at them, much to their riders' confusion.

"Come on, girl!" Astrid pleaded.

"Sparkfire, why won't you move." Raeda asked.

"Hookfang won't budge!" Snotlout said.

"I think ours is broken." Tuffnut said.

Fishlegs realised the reason behind the other dragons' behaviours "They know this isn't their fight, guys."

That just left Toothless to fight against the Whispering Death alone. The dragon shot rings of fire at Toothless, forcing the latter to move back. The dragon continued to do this until Toothless reached a canyon.

"TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup shouted, trying to warn his dragon. "Buddy..." He was too late though as the Whispering Death corners Toothless at the edge of the cliff and without Hiccup there to help him fly, Toothless will fall off. And to add to that, the Whispering Death continued to blast fire at the Night Fury slowly making the cliff collapse. "He's gonna knock Toothless into the canyon!"

Seeing her mate trapped was the last straw for Midnight as her pupils slit. If she wants to save her mate, she knew that she needed to put her fear of the Whispering Death aside. Looking at Hicca, she also knew she couldn't do this alone. She quickly nudged her rider and jerked her head towards the saddle. Hicca knew what her dragon was saying and immediately got on. They both flew off to help Toothless. "Don't worry, bro. Midnight and I will help Toothless!" Hicca said. Midnight fired three plasma blasts at the Whispering Death to distract it. Toothless roared at his mate, as if telling her to stay out of it, but Midnight roared back in defiance and continued to attack the Whispering Death. Though it may have kept the Whispering Death away from Toothless, he was still in danger of falling from the cliff. Hiccup looked at his dragon helplessly, desperately thinking of a way to have Toothless let him help. He looked to the ground and then back at Toothless, who was looking at him. Hiccups' expression changed to determination as he knew what he had to do. Wordlessly, Hiccup closed his eyes and stepped off the ledge and down the canyon.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted in panic. That got Hiccas' attention and she looked to see her brother free-falling. She became scared for a second until she saw Toothless dive after him, realising what her twin was doing. She turned her attention back to the Whispering Death.

Hiccup opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Toothless catching up to him. Luckily, Toothless got to him before they could hit the ground and Hiccup immediately gets on the saddle, hooking his prosthetic foot in. They reached the bottom of the canyon where a dust cloud was formed from the fallen rocks. Hiccup and Toothless emerged from the cloud and flew straight up.

"They're okay!" Raeda exclaimed as she and the others watch those two fly up to join Hicca and Midnight.

"Yes!" Astrid relieved.

"You save me, I save you! That's the way it is!" Hiccup said to Toothless. They joined Hicca and Midnight and the four of them confronted the Whispering Death. The Whispering Death shot several spikes at them, which they all avoided. The dragon then shot another ring of fire at them, which was also dodged. Toothless and Midnight both shot a plasma blast at the dragon, which it avoided. Sunlight beamed from the clouds and onto the Whispering Death blinding the dragon, causing it to retreat underground.

Fishlegs and Raeda both noticed this "The sunlight, guys! _That's_ its weakness!" Fishlegs exclaimed.

"That's why it stays underground!" Raeda shouted.

"Okay, guys. Keep him above ground." Hiccup said to Hicca, Toothless and Midnight. All three of them nodded their heads. Toothless and Midnight flew above the ground shooting plasma blasts at every hole they could find, causing numerous explosions, much to the Thorston twins delight.

"This. Is. Amazing!" Ruffnut said in awe.

"We've got to find you an arch-nemesis." Tuffnut said to Barf and Belch. The Zippleback agreed to do so after they toss Tuffnut to the ocean for his earlier comment back at Berk.

With no other choice, the Whispering Death was forced out from the ground and flew straight into a mountain wall. Toothless immediately pinned the dragon to the ground and was about to finish it off with a plasma blast when Hiccup stopped him. "Toothless! No!" Toothless halted his blast and looked at his rider. He then looked to his mate who was on his left. Midnight warbled to him, agreeing with Hiccup. _'It's time to let go of the past, Toothless. I have.'_

Toothless stared at the Whispering Death for a second before jumping off, allowing the dragon to fly off underground.

The four of them were joined by the other riders and dragons.

"Aw, man! Toothless could have finished him off!" Snotlout complained, not satisfied with Toothless letting his arch-enemy go.

Hiccup just shrugged and smiled. "Well, I guess all dragon grudges aren't to the death."

"I guess I'll have to change that in the book." Fishlegs said.

"Making a note of that." Hicca said taking out her journal and charcoal.

"Hey, bud. What do you say we go home?" Hiccup asked Toothless. Toothless happily agreed, relieved to finally be free of the rivalry and they all flew back to Berk.

**_When our past rears its ugly head, it usually doesn't have six rows of razor-sharp teeth and a bad attitude._ **

Later on in the day, the teens and dragons all worked to cover all the holes made by the Whispering Death by dropping boulders on them.

**_If it does, you're going to need a great friend who has your back. I will always have Toothless' back. And he will always have mine._ **


	16. Twinsanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To renew a treaty, the chief of the Berserker tribe visit Berk with suspicions that Berk is training dragons. Hiccup has his hands full with keeping the dragons hidden and on top of that Ruffnut and Tuffnut are having a falling out, leaving their dragon Barf and Belch to run amok. And why is Hicca mad at her twin all of a sudden?

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 16: Twinsanity**

**_They say two heads are better than one; which is often true, but four heads? Eh, that's a few heads too many._ **

It was another day of training for the dragon riders. This time, Hiccup had the riders navigate through a fog, relying on their dragons to navigate. Some people, however, weren't too eager about this.

Hicca flew Midnight right next to Toothless and Hiccup before she spoke up. "Hey bro, what happened to the sea-stack exercise I made for today? We decided yesterday that we would do that one."

"Well, Toothless and I saw that it was foggy here on our morning flight and I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of that by using it as a trust exercise. Don't worry, sis. We'll do the sea-stack exercise afterwards. It will be a double exercise." Hiccup answered.

"Okay." Hicca mumbled, still not happy about the sudden change in plan.

Meanwhile, the Thorston twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, have a bit of trouble with their foggy view.

"How are we supposed to see anything through this fog?" Ruffnut called.

Hiccup flew Toothless away from Midnight and towards Barf and Belch. "You're not. That's the whole point." Hiccup said.

"Oh." Tuffnut said, though he was still confused."No, I still don't get it."

"When you two can't see, you have to trust Barf and Belch to see for you." Hiccup explained before he and Toothless pulled away."Like this."

That didn't help the Thorston twins at all. "Why does he always have to speak in RIDDLES?!" Tuffnut complained.

"I say we trust us." Ruffnut suggested.

"Yeah, I'm with you, sister!" Tuffnut agreed.

"Barf, up!" Ruffnut commanded. Unfortunately Tuffnut gave a different command. "Belch, down!" Trying to do both tasks simultaneously, the Zippleback ended up spinning out of control, with their riders clutching on. Fishlegs, who was navigating through the clouds with Meatlug, gasped when he realised that they were in the path of the spinning Zippleback! It was too late for the two to steer out of the way as the Zippleback collided with the Gronckle, causing their riders to fall off and landed on some branches of a tree.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were recovering from their fall when the branch they landed on started to crack! Quickly, they called for their dragon.

"Belch, get me down!"

"Barf, go for help!"

Again, there were two different commands that left Barf and Belch unable to help either of their riders.

_'_ _Can't they make up their minds?'_ Belch complained.

_'_ _My head is spinning.'_ Barf said.

Fishlegs whistled to Meatlug and made a few hand gestures. This prompted the Gronckle to swoop in and grabbed the Thorston twins just before the branch broke off. This caught Hiccups' attention as he and Toothless flew by.

Fishlegs was happy with the outcome "It worked! I can't believe it actually worked!" His celebration, however, was short-lived when his own branch started cracking under his weight. "Whoa!" Luckily for him, he was caught by Hiccup and Toothless just in time.

"What was that hand thing you were doing?" Hiccup asked in curiosity.

"Well. I decided to craft some hand-signals for Meatlug just in case we get separated, and they seem to have passed the impromptu trial." Fishlegs explained, gesturing to his dragon who was still carrying Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

Hiccup thought about it for a second until he got an idea. "Hmm. Hand signals. That's incredible, Fishlegs!"

"Yeah, I know!" Fishlegs said enthusiastically.

"We need to start working on those right away." Hiccup said as he steered Toothless to where his sister was. "Hey, sis. Gather the others and meet back at the Academy. Fishlegs came up with this great idea to use hand signals."

"Hand signals?" Hicca repeated. "What about the sea-stack exercise?"

"We can do on another day." Hiccup declared. He then flew off before Hicca could say anything else. Hicca sighed and rolled her eyes as she and Midnight started looking for the others.

Once everyone reached the Academy, Hiccup and Fishlegs explained the hand-signals and the dragon riders started working on them right away.

"Toothless, battle ready!" Hiccup commanded, balling his hand into a fist. Toothless took an intimidating stance, as if ready to pounce. "Toothless, plasma blast!" Hiccup then pointed two fingers to the ground before throwing the shield was holding in the air. Toothless immediately blew the shield into bits. "Good job, bud!" Hiccup praised. He then ran his finger through his smiling mouth."Smile." Toothless gave his best gummy smile.

After watching her brother, Hicca turned to Midnight and started working on her own hand signals. "Okay Midnight, fly!" She waved her hand in the air and Midnight started flying around the Academy. "Barrel roll." She twirled her finger in a circle and Midnight did as commanded. "Come back." She pulled her hand towards herself and Midnight landed near her. "Good girl."

"Okay Sparkfire, fire blast!" Raeda commanded holding her five fingers up. Sparkfire immediately fired at Raedas' she which she held up just in time. "Good job!"

"Not bad." Astrid commented, turning to Stormfly. She held her hands in front of her like she was pushing something."Stormfly, spine shot!" Stormfly immediately shot a line of spines, with one of them landing a few inches away from the blonde girls' feet."Well, that's better than last time." She said, picking up the spine.

Snotlout laughed, unimpressed. He then turned to Hookfang. "Hookfang, annihilate!"He used his fist to point at a target. However, instead of blasting the target, the Monstrous Nightmare blasted Snotlout off the ground and into the target."Whoa!"

"Bull's-eye." Tuffnut snickered.

It was then Fishlegs and Meatlugs' turn. "Meatlug, hug!" He commanded wrapping his arms around himself. Meatlug immediately tackled his rider to the ground giving him a hug and a lick.

"Hmm, that could actually be useful." Hiccup then turned to the Thorston twins "Ruff, Tuff, your turn."

Ruffnut and Tuffnut turned to their dragon. Only problem was that the blonde twins didn't discuss on who would go first.

"Barf, go." Ruffnut commanded, pointing to the left at the same time Tuffnut gestured to himself with his command. "Belch, come." The Zipplebacks' heads tried to follow their riders' commands, resulting in the two head bumping against each other. The twins glared at each other before trying again. "Barf, sky." Ruffnut pointed to the sky. "Belch, ground." Tuffnut pointed to the ground. Again the Zippleback tried to follow both commands simultaneously, causing the dragon to spin at a three-sixty degree before crashing to the ground.

_'_ _Again?!'_ Barf and Belch both grumbled.

"Ha-ha! I win!" Tuffnut said in triumph.

"What do you think you're doing to my dragon?" Ruffnut demanded.

" _Your_ dragon?" Tuffnut scoffed."Puh-lease. You've been breathing in Barfs' gas again."

"Yeah, so?!"

Hiccup stepped in to diffuse the situation. "Guys, guys. Barf and Belch is one dragon. You have to use one signal at a time."

Ruffnut suddenly grinned at that idea. "Good idea." She then made a pushing gesture towards her brother."Barf, attack Tuffnut!" Before Tuffnut could react, Barf head-butted him into Snotlout, causing both of the boys to fly into the target Hookfang was supposed to blast."Ha! How's that?"

"I don't think it's what Hiccup-" Fishlegs tried to say before Tuffnut cut him off.

"Belch, eat Ruffnut!" Tuffnut ordered, clasping his fingers together.

Belch immediately took Ruffnut in his mouth. "Uh, ow!"

"Tuff, come on." Hiccup said exasperated.

Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Belch, drop Ruffnut." He then unclasped his fingers.

Belch immediately released Ruffnut. "I can't work like this."

"Ugh, I know you are being completely unprofessional." Tuffnut grumbled walking to them.

"I'm taking my dragon and going home." Ruffnut said firmly, causing her brother to turn and glare at her. "You touch that dragon, and I'll-"

"You'll what?" Ruffnut challenged, returning the glare.

Clearly, Tuffnut didn't think his threat through. "I... I don't know. Don't rush me. Just, uh... uh, I'll tell you tomorrow!" He then ran and grabbed Belchs' head, getting the Zippleback to come with him. Ruffnut did the same with Barf.

"Ugh, come on, Barf." The poor Zippleback was at a stand-till. Why did his riders have to go in different directions?

_'_ _Um…ow.'_ Both Zippleback heads said as both their riders yanked on one of their heads.

"Guys, come on. Stop, please." Hiccup said, trying to stop them."Leave the dragon out of it; it's over."

The blonde twins stopped pulling their dragon and glared at each other. "Oh, it's over." Ruffnut agreed.

"Yeah, it's so over it's _under_!" Tuffnut said firmly as he left one way while his twin left the other. Again the poor Zippleback was conflicted on where to go and the heads started arguing with each other.

"What was that all about?" Astrid asked.

"Eh, they'll be back." Hiccup shrugged. The Thorston twins fought against each other all the time and they always put it behind them the next time they see each other, only to start a new fight.

The dragon riders continued on their new lesson, getting more and more useful hand-signals (or in Snotlouts' case, getting blasted off the ground.) they then finished off and headed home.

"Well, that was a good exercise." Hiccup said to his sister as they walked home with Toothless and Midnight behind them. "I'm glad I saw Fishlegs using those hand-signals on Meatlug. It will be really handy for us in the future."

Hicca decided to speak up something that was on her mind. "Listen bro. While I agree with you about the hand-signals being useful to us, I just-" She was cut off when her twin opened the door to their house and they saw Gobber trying to get a familiar belt on their dad.

"Argh, suck in your gut, Stoick." Gobber said frustrated.

"It's sucked, Gobber! It doesn't suck anymore than this!" Stoick replied, equally frustrated.

Hiccup immediately recognised the belt. "Ah, the ceremonial belt. Does that mean what I think it means?"

"That's right, tomorrow's the annual treaty signing with the Berserker tribe." Stoick confirmed.

"They've gotta change that name." Gobber commented."When your Chief's Oswald the Agreeable and you haven't been to war in fifty years."

"Oh, please tell me he's not bringing that lunatic kid of his?" Hiccup pleaded with his sister in agreement.

"Dagur? Oh, he'll be here." Gobber said.

"Oh, lovely." Hicca said with sarcasm.

"Yeah, let me guess: Hicca and I get the fun task of distracting him from breaking things." Hiccup asked.

"Yeah 'cause we love that job _so_ much." Hicca said again with sarcasm.

"Actually, no." Stoick said."I have a more important job for you two. Both of you get to hide all the dragons."

"From Oswald the Agreeable? Why?" Hiccup asked confused.

"It's not like he would go to war or anything. He does have the title 'Agreeable'" Hicca pointed out.

"Hiccup, Hicca, just because we've had peace with them for fifty years doesn't mean they still can't go, well-" Stoick said, trying to find the right description.

"Berserk?" Gobber suggested.

"Exactly. The dragons could be seen as a sign of aggression." The chief explained."Better blissful than bloody I always say."

"And the last thing we want is another Berserker skirmish. They tend to play for keeps." Gobber added.

"Just hide the dragons, kids."

The next morning, Hicca and Hiccup gathered the rest of the dragon riders, minus Ruffnut and Tuffnut as both were nowhere to be seen. They have managed to gather all the dragons of Berk and guided them to their hiding spot. They also made sure that no dragon went astray, such as the three Terrible Terrors who decided to land on the ground to sniff the area. A blast from Hookfang got them back on track "Back in line! Back in line!" Snotlout ordered."Everybody, in line, in line!" He then turned to Hiccup and Hicca who were flying by his side."Is Dagur coming? He's so cool!"

"Cool?" Hiccup asked, raising his eyebrows."Last time he was here, he used me and Hicca for a knife throwing targets."

"Better than when he used us for an axe-throwing targets." Hicca commented.

"At least he doesn't challenge you to a duel every time he sees you." Raeda said. "And by _challenge_ I mean forcing you into a fight by attacking you out of nowhere." Dagur has heard of the Hendersons reputation for being one of the best fighters, so to prove that he is better, he always gets in a hand-to-hand combat with Raeda. Luckily for the Henderson girl, training from her parents pays off as she beats him every time, though it makes the lunatic teen more determined to fight against her.

"That guy should be locked up in a cage." Astrid commented.

"That's what he did to me! He wouldn't let me eat for three days!" Fishlegs said.

Snotlout laughed at that "Then he force fed you rotten cod heads!"

Fishlegs shuddered from that. "Thanks. I almost erased that from my memory."

Hicca then noticed something. "Hey, bro. Where are we going? This isn't the direction to the Cove." Last night, the Haddock twins sat down and came up with different places to hide the dragons when they agreed with Hiccas' idea to hide them in the Cove.

"I know, we're not going to the Cove." Hiccup informed her. "We're going to Thor's Beach. There's more space for the dragons there."

"Are you kidding me?" Hicca grumbled, pissed off.

Astrid then noticed something below them. "Look out! Incoming Zippleback!" She warned.

The teens looked and saw that it wasn't just any Zippleback. "Where're Ruffnut and Tuffnut?" Hiccup asked as they moved out of Barf and Belchs' way."Someone get that dragon."

"I'm on it!" Snotlout said as he steered Hookfang to fly right above Barf and Belch. He then jumped off the saddle and landed on Belchs' long neck. Unfortunately, Snotlout had a little difficulty staying on the saddle of the narrow neck.

Hiccup and Toothless then flew by their side. "Snotlout, you need two riders." Hiccup informed his cousin. He then looked at Fishlegs and Meatlug, who were flying nearby."Fishlegs, get in there."

"Heh, I'm not sure this is really the best-" Fishlegs didn't get to argue any longer as Barf knocked the boy of the Gronckle and onto his neck. ' _If Belch gets a rider, then so do I_.' Barf said."Whoa!" Fishlegs clutched on Barfs' neck as the head started releasing the nauseating green gas."I don't feel so good."

"It's the gas. Just try not to breathe any in." Hiccup warned.

"Yeah, that ship has sailed." Fishlegs muttered weakly.

"Whoa! Hey! Somebody tell me how to work this thing." Snotlout said frantically as he reached for Belchs' horned head.

"Whatever you do Snotlout, don't spark!"

Hiccups' warning came too late as Snotlout yanked on Belchs' head, causing that head to spark Barfs' gas. The explosion sent both boys flying and they thankfully landed on Hookfangs' saddle. "Okay. Now I feel worse." Fishlegs said, turning green.

Snotlout decided to add salt to that. "Then if I were you, I would not think of that rotten cod head sliding down your throat." That caused Fishlegs to turn his head to the side and throw up. "Oh! That is disgusting!" Snotlout grimaced, not looking behind him.

Hiccup turned his attention back to Barf and Belch, who was flying away from the group. "Wait here. Hicca and I need to find the Thorston twins to get that Zippleback under control before the Berserkers-" He was interrupted by the sound of a horn.

"Are here." Astrid finished for him.

"Great. Just great." Hiccup sighed.

"You and Hicca warn your dad and find Ruffnut and Tuffnut. We'll get the other dragons to safety and look for Barf and Belch." Raeda said.

"Thanks, Rae. Come on, sis." Hiccup and Hicca quickly landed in the forest on got off their dragons and headed to the village.

"Are you attention now?" Hicca muttered annoyed. It was loud enough for her brother to hear.

"What was that?" Hiccup asked.

"Nothing." Hicca dismissed, though she was still annoyed. Hiccup raised his eyebrows at his sister but decided to ask later as they reached the village. "I'm going to make sure there's no dragon on the loose." Before Hiccup could say anything, his sister ran off. He was definitely going to talk to her later. Right now, he made his way to the docks

"Hey, Dad." Hiccup said as he came up to him. "There's something-"

"Not now, son." Stoick said."Oswald is here."

The ships came to the dock and one of the Berserker men placed a plank connecting the ship to the docks. "Presenting the high Chief of the Berserker tribe, cracker of skulls, slayer of beasts, the great and fearsome..."

"Oswald the Agreeable?" Gobber asked confused. This isn't the usual description for the Berserker chief.

"Dagur the Deranged!"

The Berserker steps out of the way for Dagur, as the young teen spits and chuckles with a smirk.

"Dagur?" Stoick asked.

"Deranged?" Gobber repeated.

"Oh, no." Hiccup said.

Dagur throws a knife at Hiccup, which he dodged.

"Oh, perfect." Hiccup muttered.

"Dagur, where's your father?" Stoick asked, wondering how in the world Oswald the Agreeablewould let his son be the new chief so soon.

"My father has been... retired." Dagur said darkly."He lost his taste for blood. I, on the other hand, am starving." He got on the docks and started looking around."So, where are you hiding them, Stoick?"

"Hiding what, Dagur?" The Berkian chief asked though he had an idea of what the deranged teen might be asking for.

"Do I look stupid to you?" Dagur asked.

"Trick question, don't answer it." Gobber whispered to Stoick.

"We both know what's going on here." Dagur said."I have it on excellent authority that you're amassing an army of dragons."

"'Excellent authority?'" Stoick repeated."And who would that be, Dagur?"

"Never mind." Dagur dismissed, looking at his sword."Just know that if I find it to be true, then my armada will attack with the force of fifty thousand brave Berserker soldiers."

"Stand down, Dagur. There won't be any need for the armada. Now let's get to the treaty." Stoick said.

"Yes, let's. According to the treaty, my visit starts with a tour of Berk, the armory, the feast in the Great Hall, the killing arena-" Dagur listed. "You do still kill dragons here, hmm?"

"Your father never found the tour necessary." Stoick informed the younger chief.

"As you can see, I'm not my father. Am I?" Dagur retorted.

Gobber saw his friend reaching for his sword and stopped him. "Not in front of the armada." He muttered, referring to the fleets of ship full of Berserker warriors who have accompanied their new chief.

Hiccup took this opportunity to slip and look for Barf and Belch. "Oh, this is bad, this is bad. This is really bad. I have to find that Zippleback!" Suddenly he was pulled to the side of a house by Astrid.

"Hiccup, we have a problem." Astrid said urgently.

"Oh, yeah, you're telling me? Dagur's the new Berserker Chief!" Hiccup informed.

"What?!" Astrid exclaimed.

"Yeah, his father 'retired'! And he thinks we're hiding dragons."

"Well, we kind of are." Astrid pointed out."Speaking of which, we have another problem." She pointed to the ground which has a Zippleback footprint on it!

"Huh, Barf? Belch? Here?" Hiccup asked, starting to panic. He got his answer when he and Astrid saw Barf and Belch near a fish basket, right where Stoick and Gobber were leading Dagur for their tour! Quickly, Astrid and Hiccup ran and moved the basket away, making Barf and Belch walk with them.

"And we're walking, walking." Gobber said, hoping there was no loose dragon in sight."Here we have our food storage. It's where we... well..."

"Oh, oh, oh, let me guess! Store your food." Dagur asked rhetorically, not impressed.

"No wonder they made him chief." Gobber muttered to the Berkian chief as they walked inside the food storage.

Right behind them Barf and Belch started wandering around in the village with Hiccup and Astrid chasing them. "Barf, Belch, come back here!" Hiccup hissed.

Luckily they all moved out of sight just in time, Dagur started walking out of the food storage. "Bo-ring! I want to see the dragon-killing things!" Dagur demanded, oblivious to the fact that he just missed a Zippleback within killing distance.

"Follow me." Stoick sighed, leading the Berserker chief to the armoury.

Meanwhile, Hiccup and Astrid seemed to have lost track of the stray Zippleback. "Where did it go?" Astrid asked

"I have no idea. You keep looking, and I'll go warn my dad." Hiccup answered. "And if you find my sister, tell her to look for Barf and Belch as well."

At the armoury, Dagur started testing out a sword a bit _too_ enthusiastically. "Oh, you want some of this, Gronckle?" He said maniacally swinging the sword."How 'bout you, Nadder? Hyah! That's right plead, plead for your pathetic dragon life!" He then threw the sword at the gap between Stoick and Gobber, striking the wall.

"He's really got a handle on that whole 'deranged' thing." Gobber commented to Stoick, while Dagur picked up an axe.

"I'm about to make him eat this sword!" Stoick muttered, about to take the sword out of the wall.

Gobber stopped him just in time. "Why don't we see to signing that treaty now?"

Dagur turned to the two adults. "Sounds like my father. 'Sign the treaty, Dagur.' 'Leave that chicken alone, Dagur!' 'Put down that axe, Dagur!'" He mocked.

"Your father is a great man! And I'll not have you disrespect him!" Stoick said, trying to keep his own anger in check.

"My father _was_ a coward." Dagur said without hesitation or remorse. "I intend to return the Berserkers to their former glory. Something he was incapable of doing."

Stoick glared at the teen, about to say something in response, when his eyes looked outside and saw a familiar Zippleback on the loose. "Zippleback!" He said without thinking.

That got Dagur excited as he pulled out his own sword and looked around. "I knew it! Where is it? Ooh, let me kill it, let me kill it!"

Luckily, Gobber stepped in and kept the deranged teen from looking outside. "He's joking, Dagur! That Stoick, always the prankster." Gobber chuckled, guiding Dagur away from the door."Tell me, Dagur, what are some of your deranged plans for the Berserker tribe?"

"Barf? Belch?" Hiccup whispered looking around for the Zippleback. Barf and Belch answered to their names and were revealed to be on the roof of the armoury with their heads above Hiccups'."Guys you can't be here! Oh, come on, what did they do? Okay, think like Ruffnut and Tuffnut. I can't believe I just said that. Barf, Belch, sky!" He made a gesture above himself, but neither Barf nor Belch made any move to follow his command. Instead the Zippleback just stared at the boy in curiosity.

Hiccup stopped when he heard Dagurs' voice. "Nice weapons, very clean, no blood stains, pity." The older teen said as he walked out the armoury. Hiccup then closed his eyes, preparing for the inevitable. But when Dagur looked around, he only saw Hiccup."Ah, Hiccup, there you are. I was wondering when I'd see you again."

Hiccup opened his eyes, and after seeing that the Zippleback wasn't behind the Berserker chief, he regained his composure. "Dagur! I was just thinking about you!"

"Where's the other one? Aren't you two supposed to be joined to the hip or something?"

"Oh, Hicca? Yeah, she's around here. Hey, remember that time we went swimming, and you tried to drown me while Hicca ran for help?" Hiccup chuckled nervously.

Dagur laughed at that "Oh, the laughs we had." His expression then changed to not impressed."Bored again! If you see your friend Raeda, let her know that I've been preparing for a rematch." He pushed Hiccup to the side and was about to walk away, when he seemed to notice something."Just a moment." He turned to the younger boy."Something is going on here."

Thinking that Dagur must have seen a sign of a dragon, Hiccup tried to get an explanation. "I can explain."

"Where is it?"

"Look it's just one drag-"

"Your leg." Dagur interrupted, pointing to Hiccups' prosthetic foot."Never mind. I heard all about it."

"You heard all about what?" Hiccup asked, uncertain.

"You and Hicca, the Red Death, defeated it all by yourselves."

"What? Me and Hicca? Look at me. My sister isn't any stronger than I am. How could either of us have possibly defeated the Red Death?" Hiccup said nervously.

"Right? That's what I thought, too, but then I heard about the trained dragons, and that got me, well, kind of tingly." Dagur said, narrowing his eyes.

Hiccup decided to play dumb. "Trained dragons? I do- I don't even—can you even train a dragon?"

"I don't know. Can you?" Dagur asked, staring the younger boy down.

Hiccup saw his father and Gobber coming and decided to change the subject "Alright, then. Who's hungry?"

Stoick took that cue and started leading Dagur to the Great Hall. "It's this way Dagur."

They started walking when they heard a roar in the distance. Behind the armoury, Toothless was pulling Barf and Belchs' tails back, while Midnight watched the boys exasperatedly.

' _Guys! Keep it down or they will hear you!_ 'Midnight warbled.

' _You're mate is the one pulling our tails, tell him to stop._ ' Barf retorted.

' _Yeah, tell him to stop._ ' Belch repeated.

' _I just said that, Belch._ '

Stoick, Gobber and Dagur looked back at Hiccup. Coming up with an idea, Hiccup rubbed his stomach and started making growling sounds. "Oh, boy, am I hungry."

Before Dagur could question it, Stoick lead the teen chief to the Great Hall. "I said, this way, Dagur!" As Dagur and Gobber walked ahead, Stoick stayed back and whispered to Hiccup."Find your sister and both of you get that dragon out of here."

Hiccup immediately went looking for his sister. Though he couldn't find Hicca, he managed to find Astrid and the two decided to talk to the Thorston twins to get them to fly Barf and Belch to safety.

They reached the Thorston household when they found Hicca about to go inside. "Hey sis." Hiccup called. "Where were you? We've been looking everywhere for you."

Hicca sighed before turning to them. "Well one, I noticed dad giving a tour to not Oswald the Agreeable but to his son Dagur. I overheard Dagur mentioning that he was the new chief of the Berserker tribe."

"We already know about that." Astrid informed her.

"Also I found Zippleback footprints and figured Barf and Belch wondering around. I was just about to get Ruffnut and Tuffnut to fly their dragon away. I hope you didn't mind me not consulting you about this." She said pointedly to her brother, crossing her arms.

Hiccup was surprised by his sisters' sudden behaviour before replying. "Oh, w-well it's fine. Actually Astrid and I were here to do the same."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" With that Hicca went inside the house without waiting for either Hiccup or Astrid. The two teens left behind shared a look before going inside as well.

They looked around, calling for both Ruffnut and Tuffnut, when the latter surprised all three of them from above. "What are you guys doing here?" Tuffnut said as he hung from a bar above.

"Hey, Tuffnut, feel like talking?" Hiccup asked.

"Um, can you come down?" Astrid asked.

"Whatever." Tuffnut said as he jumped, landing on his feet."Whoa. Yeah, I love that part."

"Look, about Barf and Belch, we need you and Ruffnut to get your dragon under control." Hiccup explained.

"The sooner you guys can do this, the better." Hicca added.

"Uh-uh. No. No, thank you." Tuffnut said adamantly."I am officially out of the dragon business, and the sister business, and the dragon and sister business: The "dristisderness"."

"What's going on with you two?" Astrid asked. Though the Thorston twins fight a lot, they never had an argument that lasted for more than a day.

"Simple. You know what this is?" Tuffnut asked, holding up a wooden spoon.

"Uh, a spoon?" Hiccup answered.

"No it's _our_ spoon." Tuffnut corrected. He then gestured to the many other things he and Ruffnut shared. Just like this is _our_ dish, and _our_ axe, and _our_ well-groomed stuff yak. Everything is ours. I'm sick of ours. Just once I want something to be just _mine_." He sighed in frustration.

Hiccup, being a twin, decided to give the blonde male twin some counselling. "Look Tuff, Hicca and I know what it's like to be a twin. Although we get along with each other really well, it can be annoying at times to have to share things-"

"It can also be very annoying and frustrating at times when you're twin doesn't listen to you." Hicca cut her brother off, her annoyance coming back.

Hiccup and Astrid looked at the Haddock girl questioningly as Tuffnut spoke up. "I know right? Completely annoying. I'm glad you understand. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go pack up my half of the yak."

That diverted Hiccups' attention away from his sister as he turn to Tuffnut. "Go? Where?"

"I don't know. To my dark, soggy, alone place. Not to cry. This house, it has too many memories." Tuffnut said sadly before he left.

"Tuff!" Hiccup called, but it was no use as the blonde Thorston was gone.

"Dark, soggy, alone place?" Astrid questioned.

"Yeah, I really don't want to know." Hiccup said. He then turned to his sister. "Hicca, what's going on with you? You've been annoyed since we got back here."

Hicca raised her eyebrows at her brother. "You seriously don't know why I'm like this?" Hiccup shook his head in response. "It's amazing Hiccup, for a guy as smart and observant as you to be so clueless at times. I'm going to go look for Ruffnut." Before Hiccup could say anything else, Hicca left.

Astrid turned to Hiccup. "Wow, I didn't even think it was possible for Hicca to be mad at you. Sure you guys do have small arguments now and then, but I've never seen her angry at you before." She said.

Hiccup sighed. "I know, and I have no idea why she is mad at me. She seemed alright in the morning. Maybe Raeda might know. Where is she?"

"She is with Snotlout and Fishlegs making sure all the other dragons are safe and hidden. She's pretty adamant about not coming back to Berk until Dagur is gone."

Hiccup sighed. "Great. This day is definitely not in my favour."

He and Astrid spent the rest of the day looking for the Zippleback, the Thorston twins and Hicca, but no luck. Hiccup then sent Astrid to inform the others on what is happening while he went to attend the feast in the Great Hall.

When he went inside he saw that the feast has already started and his sister was there as well. He knew she was aware that he came, but she didn't look up when he sat next to her.

"Did you get that Zippleback under control?" Stoick whispered to Hiccup.

"We're working on it." Hiccup whispered back. He looked at his sister and saw that she was not making any eye contact with him. Stoick noticed how his children were acting and was about to inquire when Dagur spoke up.

"A toast! To death in battle!" The Berserker chief announced raising his mug.

"To your father! To Oswald!" Gobber toasted, raising his own mug and many of the Berkian warriors raised their mugs in agreement.

Dagur was annoyed by this "Fine, whatever! 'To Oswald! To Oswald! To Oswald!'Bladady, Bladady, Blah! Ugh!" He angrily stabbed his food with his knife.

Gobber decided to change the subject. "Well, on that cheery note, shall we sign the treaty and send you on your way?"

"Great idea! Let's sign that treaty. Bring us the dragon's blood!" Dagur ordered.

Hiccup and Hiccas' eyes widened. "Uh, did you say dragon's blood?" Hiccup asked.

"Heh, heh. Don't be ridiculous, Dagur. Your father and I haven't signed the treaty in dragon's blood for years." Stoick said, slightly nervous.

"Why would that be a problem, Stoick?" Dagur challenged."Unless, of course, you don't kill dragons anymore."

"We still kill dragons." Stoick reassured.

Gobber supported his friends' statement. "The problem is, we've killed so many, there isn't a dragon within two hundred miles-"

Whether it was on cue or a cruel joke, Barf and Belch chose that time to storm in the Great Hall, most probably looking for something to eat. The appeared right in front of the alarmed Berserkers eyes.

_'_ _Are you sure there's fish here?'_ Barf asked Belch as the Zippleback looked around the Great Hall, oblivious to the Berserker tribe.

_'_ _That's what my nose is saying.'_ Belch answered.

_'_ _Well my nose says different.'_

"Except that one." Gobber dead-panned.

"Well that is really, really unfortunate." Hicca muttered worriedly.

Dagurs' eyes widened as he grabbed the Berkian chief by his armour. "The Zippleback! It's a sign. A head for each Chief! It's going to be amazing!" He then grabbed his sword and raised it up in the air."Tonight, we hunt dragon!"

He was supported by his Berserker men, who all chanted 'kill' in excitement. While they were preparing to hunt, Stoick leaned towards his children. "You two need to find that Zippleback before he does." He warned in a low voice.

Hicca and Hiccup looked at each other and they knew that they needed to talk. The two of them slipped away from the Great Hall unnoticed.

As soon as they were outside, Hiccup got straight to the point. "Look sis. As you and I both just saw, this has gotten worse. Barf and Belchs' life is on the line and we need to reunite the Thorston twins to help them save their dragon. And before we can fix their problem, we need to fix our own problem first. So whatever reason you're mad at me for, you need to tell me right now because I honestly don't know."

Hicca sighed, knowing her brother was right. She finally spoke what's on her mind. "You have an autocratic leadership."

Hiccup blinked his eyes at that. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that every decision made for the Dragon Academy is made by you only. And any decision given from me is always changed at the last minute in favour of _your_ decisions! When was the last time we had a lesson that I came up with? Even I can't remember! And I'm only informed of any changes at the very last minute, you don't even ask me if I'm okay with it or not. I just don't feel like the co-head of the Academy, I feel like just another student. And speaking of which, have you noticed that the others always go to _you_ for any information or advice about dragons instead of me even though we have the same knowledge of dragons? It's like you guys have forgotten that it wasn't just you who changed the ways of Vikings. _We_ befriended Night Furies, _we_ took down the Red Death together and _we_ started the Dragon Academy."

Hiccup was silent as he listened to his sister rant to him. Thinking about it, he realised that he has been taking complete control over the Academy and left his sister out of it. He finally spoke up. "Hicca, I'm so sorry about that. I didn't mean to make you think that you didn't have a voice in the Academy. It's just that dad keeps telling me that I'm going to be the next chief of Berk and how important it is to be a good leader, and that scares me. Knowing whatever decision I will make will have an impact on this village whether it's good or bad. I just wanted to be ready for that and I guess stepping up to be a good leader for the Academy was practice for that."

Hiccas' eyes softened in understanding. "Hiccup, you're going to be a good chief for Berk one day. You're a natural leader, whether you see it or not. Don't over-think it. And don't try to deal with this by yourself. You're not alone, you have Toothless, Midnight, dad, Gobber, Raeda, Astrid and the others here to help and support you. Most of all, you'll have me with you every step of the way. You don't have to carry this weight by yourself, so don't try to."

Hiccup gave his sister a grateful smile. "I'm really sorry, sis. From now on I will sure to consult every decision with you before I make them. And if I don't, feel free to hit me on the head as hard as you want."

Hicca chuckled at that. "Oh, I definitely will. I was really close to doing so." The Haddock twins then hugged it out. They pulled apart when they heard the doors of the Great Hall flying open with Dagur and his men, everyone armed to the teeth, starting their search party for Barf and Belch.

Hicca and Hiccup looked at each other and remembered their situation. "We need to get the others." They said to each other. They smiled and ran off to get Toothless and Midnight, who were hiding in the forest. The auburn twins immediately flew to where Raeda, Snotlout, Astrid and Fishlegs were and after quickly filling them in on what happened; the six of them took to the skies with their dragons in search for the Thorston twins.

It soon became morning and the riders had no luck finding the blonde twins or their dragon. "Hiccup, Hicca you heard Tuffnut. He went to his dark, soggy, alone place. That could be anywhere." Astrid pointed out.

"Not really! That could only be one place." Snotlout casually mentioned. He then looked and saw Hiccup, Hicca, Fishlegs, Astrid and Raeda looking at him."What?"

"You knew that the entire time Snotlout?!" Hicca asked in annoyance and disbelief.

"Why didn't you say something?!" Hiccup asked exasperated.

"Why didn't you guys ask?" Snotlout retorted.

"Snotlout, we've been looking for them all day!" Astrid said, irritated.

"And?"

"And if you don't right now, I'm gonna throw you off that dragon!" Astrid exclaimed.

"I will you shoot you of Hookfang before she gets the chance!" Raeda threatened, raising her bow.

"No need to get violent, ladies. He's probably at the lost cavern. They used to play hide and go kill there when they were kids." Snotlout informed them.

"Hicca you, Astrid and Snotlout take the South entrance of the cavern. Fishlegs, Raeda and I will take the North. Hiccups' instructed. "If that's fine with you, sis."

Hicca smiled, knowing her brother is making the effort to include her, and nodded. Hiccup, Raeda and Fishlegs then flew off.

"Come on guys." Hicca said. She turned to her team-mates and saw Snotlout winking at Astrid, causing the blonde girl to be annoyed. 'Maybe I should've asked to switch Snotlout.' Hicca thought as she led them to the South entrance.

Hiccup, Raeda and Fishlegs reached the North entrance and Hiccup turned to Toothless. "Alright, bud, do your thing. Search." He waved his hand, signalling Toothless to go to search mode.

At the South entrance, Hicca, Astrid and Snotlout walked inside with Hicca giving Midnight the signal to look around while Hicca herself went in front of the group with Astrid, Stormfly, Hookfang and Snotlout following her.

"Pretty dark in here. If you need to hold my hand, Astrid, it's okay." Snotlout offered, holding his hand out with his eyes closed.

Astrid seemed to have been considering that. "Sure, Snotlout."

Eyes still closed, Snotlout held onto what he thought was Astrids' hand. "Ooh. Soft as I thought it would be..." He said to Hookfang. Hookfang gave his rider a look as the dragon could see what he was actually holding. When Snotlout followed his dragons' gaze, the boy saw that he was actually holding Stormflys' spine tail! "EWW!" Snotlout jumped back to Hookfang.

"Guys Barf and Belch life in danger, we need to find Ruffnut and Tuffnut." Hicca reminded them.

"Lead the way Hicca." Astrid said while Hookfang pushed Snotlout forward to join the others.

Meanwhile, Hiccups' group seemed to have spot a familiar figure sitting against the wall. "Tuffnut?" Hiccup called, holding his torch towards the figure.

Annoyed, Tuffnut shield his eyes away from the sudden light. "Oh, you guys again. Would you quit following me?!"

Suddenly they heard a familiar voice from the other side of the wall. "Ruffnut?"

"Would you quit following me?!"

"Did you guys hear that?" Hiccup asked.

"Duh. It's called an echo." Snotlout answered as the rest of Hiccas' group and Ruffnut joined the others.

"Toothless/Midnight, plasma blast!" Hiccup and Hicca gave their dragons the signal for the blast and the Night Furies followed the command and shot plasma blasts above, illuminating the cavern.

Tuffnut was definitely not happy to see his twin here. "Are you kidding me?! What do you think you're doing in my soggy place?!"

The feeling was mutual for Ruffnut. "This is my soggy place! And I'm definitely not sharing it with you!"

"Okay, listen, please. This is no time to argue. We need to get you guys to your dragon. It's important." Hiccup pleaded.

"Barf and Belch are in real trouble." Astrid informed them.

"Like life and death trouble." Hicca added.

"I'll go! But not with her." Tuffnut said, gesturing to Ruffnut.

"I'm not going anywhere with _her_ either!" Ruffnut countered, gesturing to Tuffnut.

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed. He then realised what his sister just said."Wait, what?"

"No, you don't understand. You both have to go!" Hiccup said. Ruffnut and Tuffnut merely looked at each other and turned their backs at each other.

Hicca then spoke up. "Look guys, I know it's sometimes frustrating having a twin with whom you have to share most of your things with and argue all the time. But by the end of the day, you're family and no amount of arguments will change the fact that you two do care about each other whether you admit it or not."

At the last sentence, she gave her own twin a smile which he returned before speaking up. "Hiccas' right. Like it or not, your connected to each other, and the two of you are connected to that dragon. Just like me with Toothless."

"And me with Midnight." Hicca said.

"And me with Stormfly." Astrid added.

"Don't forget me and Sparkfire." Raeda piped up.

"Us, too." Fishlegs said, referring to himself and Meatlug.

"We can get you another spoon, another dish, another stuffed yak. What we can't get you is another Barf and Belch." Hiccup told the blonde twins.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut thought this over.

"Do you think they got any of that?" Hiccup asked Astrid and Raeda.

"Give them a minute." Raeda answered.

The Thorston twins then made their decision. "Fine." Tuffnut said as he and his sister spit shake their hands and banged their helmets together."You know, I did spit a little more in my hand."

"They got it." Astrid said smiling.

"Okay, let's go. We're out of time." Hiccup said.

"We need to get you guys to your dragon as fast as we can." Hicca added.

"So why is this so important, anyway?" Tuffnut asked.

"The Berserkers are hunting down your dragon to use its blood for ink." Snotlout answered nonchalantly. He looked up and saw the other teens staring at him in shock, disbelief and in Ruffnut and Tuffnuts' case, fear."What? Is that not what's happening?"

After Hicca, Astrid and Raeda quickly reprimanded Snotlout for being callous; the eight teens set off to find Barf and Belch, with Tuffnut riding on Toothless and Ruffnut riding on Midnight.

They flew above the forest until Hiccup spotted the Zippleback. "There they are!" He pointed."We gotta to get you guys down there." Then to their horror, Barf and Belch suddenly got captured by two Berserker men!

"NOOOO!" Tuffnut exclaimed, panicking along with his sister. Hiccup and Hicca had Toothless and Midnight landing in the forest, hidden from the Berserkers and the others followed suit. "What are we doing here?! We have to get our dragon!" Tuffnut insisted, while his sister agreed.

"We can't afford to be spotted by the Berserkers." Hiccup explained.

"Especially not with our dragons." Hicca added.

Dagur approached the restrained Zippleback with a sword in his hand. "Hyah!" Before he could strike, however, another sword blocked his own sword and the teen chief looked up to see the Berkian chief was responsible."How... dare... you?"

"How dare _you_?" Stoick retorted."We're supposed to slay this dragon together, and that's what we'll do, in the arena, where dragon killing is done."

Reluctantly, Dagur drew back his sword. "To the arena!" He and the Berserkers pulled Barf and Belch towards the direction of the Arena. Stoick and Gobber exchanged a worried look before following them. Once the area was clear, the riders and dragons came out of hiding.

"The Chief's not gonna let them kill our dragon..." Tuffnut said worriedly. He and Ruffnut then turned to Hiccup and Hicca. "Is he?" They both asked.

"No, he won't. He's just buying us some time." Hicca reassured them.

"But he won't be able to stall Dagur for long. We need to come up with a plan and fast." Hiccup added.

"I have a plan." Snotlout said proudly."One word: ANNIHILATE!" He made that same hand gesture, which made Hookfang take it as a command. The Monstrous Nightmare blasted fire right on his riders' helmet."Unh! Hookfang!"

_'_ _Hey, don't get mad at me. You asked for it.'_ Hookfang retorted.

"Or not." Astrid said, dismissing the idea.

But Hiccup and Hicca seemed to be thinking about this. "Actually, that could work!" Hiccup said, as everyone except his sister looked at him questioningly.

"I think I know where you're going with this, bro. And I completely approve." Hicca said. She and her brother then explained their plan to the others.

At the Arena, Gobber tried to delay Barf and Belchs' execution by reading the terms of the treaty. "According to the treaty, the killing of the dragon- must be-"

Bored and impatient, Dagur cut the blacksmith off. "Bored! I want the head on the right." He then approached Belch with his sword in his hand. Tied down, Belch had no choice but to watch in fear as the deranged teen was going to execute him.

"I'm putting a stop to this. If it means war, it means war." Stoick whispered to Gobber as he drew out his own sword. He was about to strike Dagur, when a sudden screamed stopped both of them in their tracks.

"HELP! DRAGON ATTACK!" Hiccup screamed as he, Hicca, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Raeda came running in.

"WE'RE BEING INVADED!" Hicca yelled.

"The dragons are attacking! Run for your lives! We gotta get out of here!" Astrid exclaimed. Hookfang then came from above the Arena and, after seeing the signal from his rider, blasted fire at the Berserkers.

"What is going on?" Gobber asked, not getting what's really going on.

Luckily, Stoick did. "Gobber, dragon attack." The chief said, elbowing the blacksmith.

Gobber finally caught on "Oh. Dragon attack! Everyone out of here!"

Stormfly, Meatlug and Sparkfire came flying in through the entrance. Their riders, who were hidden from the Berserkers gave their dragons the hand signals to attack causing Stormfly to shot spines, Meatlug to tackle one of the Berserker men and Sparkfire to shoot fire.

"We must protect our honoured guests." Gobber insisted, grabbing Dagur by his shoulders.

Dagur immediately pushed the blonde man off. "Run if you want, but Dagur the Deranged will not retreat!" He then got his sword ready and was prepared to kill Barf and Belch.

During the 'dragon attack' the two men who were holding the Zippleback down let go of the bindings to defend themselves, freeing Barf and Belch. The Zippleback looked up and saw both of their riders at the stands above.

For once, the Thorston twins took turns giving the command to their dragon.

"Barf, gas." Ruffnut ordered, holding her hand in front of her mouth. Barf complied and spewed the green gas out in front of Dagur.

"Belch, spark." Tuffnut commanded, pointing out two fingers. Belch immediately sparked the gas resulting in an explosion that sent Dagur flying backwards. Ruffnut and Tuffnut continued giving signals to their dragons to fight off the Berserkers. Finally, they gave the signal to the dragon to leave, and Barf and Belch did so.

Dagur got up, picked up and spear on the ground and threw it at the Zippleback. Luckily Toothless came flying and caught the spear in his mouth and broke it in half. Midnight flew right at his side. "Whoa! Night Furies! They do exist!" Dagur said in awe.

"Get away from him!" Hicca exclaimed as she and Hiccup came by Dagurs' side, each holding a dagger and a shield.

"Back, you... fiends, you!" Hiccup 'threatened' as he got in front of Dagur."You'll not harm our friend Dagur." He 'accidently' hit Dagur with his shield, distracting the older teen so that the auburn twins can signal their dragons to fire plasma blasts, which the Night Furies did. The three teens then ran to dodge the blasts."Please, Dagur, save yourself." Hiccup said shoving Dagur away. He and Hicca then confronted Toothless and Midnight as the Night Furies pinned their riders to the ground."You owe it to your people!"

"Don't worry about us Dagur, we can handle this. You guys get back to your tribe!" Hicca insisted.

Seeing the chaos in the Arena, Dagur reluctantly called to his men. "Berserkers, to the boats!" The Berserkers willingly complied and ran off.

"What about the treaty?" Gobber asked, running after Dagur.

Dagur looked back at the chaos and answered. "Consider it signed!" He then retreated with his men to the docks.

As soon as all the Berserkers have left, the dragons stopped their 'attack' and Stoick looked at his children who were now sitting up as Midnight and Toothless got off them. The auburn twins looked at the blonde twins who got on their dragon and shook hands.

"Never under-estimate the power of twins." Hicca said smiling to her brother.

Hiccup smiled back and they fist-bumped.

"Well done you two. I doubt we'll be seeing much more of Dagur the Deranged." Stoick said happily.

"Let's hope not." Hiccup said as his sister nodded in agreement.

**_I used to think four heads was a little crazy, and I wasn't wrong._ **

Later in the evening, the teens were cleaning up the mess in the Arena.

"I still think Dagur's pretty cool!" Snotlout said to Ruffnut and Tuffnut. The blonde twins smiled at each other and simply signalled Barf and Belch to blast Snotlout. They then head-butted each other as the Zippleback did the same.

Hicca laughed at the sight as her brother came up to her.

"So, sis. I was thinking that each week we should alternate between deciding the lessons. You can take this week. What do you say?" Hiccup offered with a hopeful expression.

Hicca smiled at her brother and nodded. "I would love that."

**_But I'll take crazy over berserk any day of the week._ **


	17. Defiant One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snotlout rebelling caused him, Hiccup and Toothless to get stranded on an island, with Toothless' prosthetic tail-fin now broken. But trouble arises when the trio realizes exactly where they crash-landed...

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 17: Defiant One**

**_The life of a Viking can be difficult, harsh, and stormy. Nobody could make it through alone. Eventually you're going to have to rely on someone. Unfortunately we do not always get to pick that someone._ **

Today the chief of Berk, Stoick the Vast, informed his kids that one of their fishing boats haven't returned. Therefore, the dragon riders are now out on a search and rescue mission to find the boat. However, some people were getting impatient.

"This is so lame! What's the point of even flying out here?" Snotlout complained.

"Because this is our first dragon search and rescue mission." Hiccup answered.

"We've done plenty of searching but we haven't done any rescuing! Do you even know where we are? We're probably lost1" Snotlout asked.

"Search and rescue missions can be for days Snotlout. Just because we have dragons doesn't mean we can find anyone in a few seconds." Hicca explained.

"Plus, our dad said the fishing boat was last seen heading south." Hiccup explained.

"Neither of you know what you're talking about." Snotlout said defiantly."There's nothing down there! I say we go north!"

Astrid rolled her eyes at the Jorgenson boy. "And if Hiccup and Hicca said to go north?"

Snotlout tried to come up with an answer, but seemed stuck. "Are you trying to mess with my mind? Because nothing gets in here, nothing!"

"Trust me, Snotlout, that fact has been established a _very_ long time ago." Raeda said rolling her eyes.

"What does our map say, Fishlegs?" Astrid asked, trying to get them back on the mission.

Fishlegs held out the map and tried to read it. The task was made difficult with the wind blowing the map. "Kind of tough to read from this angle."

"Just keep your eyes open for any signs of the boat." Hicca ordered the others.

Snotlout wasn't so willing to comply "You know what, Hicca? I'm done listening to you and your brother! I said north, and north is where I'm going..." He tried to steer Hookfang away, but the Monstrous Nightmare was reluctant in leaving the group.

_'_ _Why do we have to leave?'_ Hookfang grumbled.

"Hey! You work for me!" The boy finally managed to steer the stubborn dragon away as they headed north.

_'_ _Oh, I am so going to blast you when you least expect it for that one.'_

"Are we just going to let him go?" Ruffnut asked.

"Works for me." Tuffnut answered.

Seeing his cousin leave, Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, enjoying the moment of peace. Snotlout didn't waste any opportunity to annoy him or his sister, though Hicca has more of the patience and tolerance to deal with their cousin than he does.

His moment of peace was interrupted when Astrid cleared her throat. "Ahem."

Hiccup looked at his twin. "I don't like him any more than you do, bro. But it's not safe for him and Hookfang to go off by themselves. Something bad could happen to them." Hicca reasoned.

Hiccup sighed, knowing his sister is right. "Ugh, you're right. I'm going. Sis, you lead the others back. We'll get him."

"Are you sure you don't want me and Midnight to come with you guys?" Hicca asked. Midnight warbled in agreement.

"No, it's fine. All I need to do is get Hookfang to listen and we'll be back at Berk before you guys." Hiccup said. His sister nodded before she started leading the others back. He and Toothless then flew in the direction that Snotlout and Hookfang went, hoping that the two of them didn't flew that far."Come on bud." They manage to catch up to Snotlout and Hookfang, unfortunately the duo was found dangerously close to a waterspout!"Wow, look at the size of that waterspout. That waterspout is way too dangerous!" Hiccup yelled.

"That's why I'm flying around it. Duh!" Snotlout retorted. He soon learned the hard way that it was not the best plan.

"YOU'RE CUTTING TOO CLOSE! LOOK OUT!" Hiccup hollered through the raging winds.

Snotlout was starting to panic as he struggling to steer Hookfang through the waterspout. Unfortunately, the Jorgenson boy lost his grip on the Monstrous Nightmare and started flying around the waterspout. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no! AAH! HELP ME! HELP ME, HICCUP! AAHH!"

"We're coming!" Hiccup screamed as Toothless shot out to catch up to them. Somehow, despite the raging winds, Hiccup managed to get his cousin and now tried to fly out of there.  
"TOOTHLESS, GET US OUT OF HERE!" But before Toothless could fly away, Hiccup watched in horror as the Night Furys' prosthetic tail tore apart thanks to the intense winds."Oh, no! SNOTLOUT, HANG ON!" The boys and dragons were now stuck in the powerful waterspout.

Meanwhile, the rest of the dragon riders were on their way back to Berk, unaware of the sudden predicament, Hiccup and Snotlout have gotten themselves into.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Hiccas' neck stood up as the auburn haired girl turned her head around, frowning.

Raeda noticed this. "Everything okay, Hicca?"

"I'm not sure, Rae. I'm suddenly feeling very worried about Hiccup and I don't know why."

"I'm sure he's fine, Hicca. Snotlout may be stubborn, but Hiccup can definitely handle him." Astrid piped in.

"Plus, if anything happens to Hiccup, Toothless will be there to protect him." Raeda said.

"I know." Hicca admitted. 'But still...'

The six dragon riders reached the dock of Berk, where they found Stoick and Gobber pushing a cart towards the village.

"Push, Gobber!" Stoick ordered.

"I'm pushing, Stoick." Gobber grunted.

"Well, it certainly doesn't feel like it. Push harder!"

Gobber then saw the six teens come towards them. "Oh, there they are."

Hicca walked towards her dad. "No sign of the boat anywhere, dad."

"I know, dear. The boat has returned." Stoick informed her.

"Could've told us that before we left." Tuffnut muttered.

The chief glared at the blonde boy. "Excuse me?"

"Um, nothing, Chief. That was her." Tuffnut said quickly, pointing to his sister.

"Hey!"

Stoick looked at the other teens and noticed his son missing. "Where's Hiccup?"

"He had to double back to get Snotlout." Astrid answered.

"Heh. I said leave him..." Tuffnut snickered, but then stopped when the chief glared at him again."Uh, her again! I don't know what her deal is." Ruffnut shoved him to the ground.

Gobber noticed his friends' worried expression and pat him on the back "Nothing to worry about, Stoick. You know how hard it is to get him off that dragon."

That may have put Stoick a bit at ease, but Hicca still had some uncertainty hanging over her as she walked to the cliffs to stare out into the ocean, hoping her brother will come back soon.

After crash-landing on an island, Hiccup got up and started looking for Snotlout and Toothless. "Toothless? Where are you? Snotlout?" He stopped when he saw a familiar black figure on the ground."Toothless!" He immediately ran to the male Night Fury who was slowly getting up."Are you okay? Ah. Come on, talk to me, bud." Toothless managed to respond with a lick, to Hiccups' relief.

_'_ _I'm alright.'_ Toothless warbled.

"Oh, thank Thor. That wasn't our best landing was it, was it?" Hiccup then looked at Toothless' prosthetic tail-fin and saw that it was damaged."Great. Your tail is destroyed and your connecting rod is bent! What are we supposed to do now?"

A familiar voice was heard from above. "You can start by getting me out of this stupid tree!" Hiccup and Toothless looked up and saw that Snotlout was indeed stuck in a branch of a tree, but not for long. The branch broke and Snotlout came falling to the ground

Hiccup winced at that. "Well, that looked like it hurt." Snotlout, who was lying face-up, shook his head."You sure? Can you talk?"

"Go... suck... rocks." Snotlout muttered weakly.

"Hey, he's back! Lucky us." Hiccup said sarcastically. He then looked around and noticed the absence of a certain Monstrous Nightmare."Hey, where's Hookfang?"

Snotlout immediately got up and started looking for his dragon. "Hookfang! Hookfang, where are you? Hookfang, you get over here right now!" When he got no response, he started getting worried."Hookfang! Hookie? Fangster?"

"I don't think he's here, Snotlout." Hiccup commented.

Snotlout tried to hide his worry and scoffed. "Obviously! Pig-headed dragon."

Hiccup saw right through him. "Don't worry. We'll find him. Now all we have to do is figure out how to get out of here."

After brainstorming for a bit, Hiccup managed to make a makeshift prosthetic tailfin for Toothless so that they could fly out of there. "Okay, that should work." All that was left was to straighten out the bent connecting rod."This might be a little tougher." Hiccup placed it on a rock and used his whole strength to straighten it out, but he only succeeded in hitting himself with the rod."DOW! OW!"

Snotlout was going through Hiccups' satchel. "You didn't pack any food, Hiccup! This is not how you prepare for a search and rescue?"

"Uh, instead of complaining, why don't you try to help me?" Hiccup asked, rubbing his head.

"I am trying to help you!" Snotlout retorted, holding a biscuit in his hand."I'm trying to teach you about survival. You don't leave home without proper supplies, and on top of that list is food!"

"Food. Like the food in your hand?" Hiccup noticed.

"You mean this day old biscuit?" Snotlout said, pointing to the biscuit in his hand. "It even got a little spot of mold right- Hey!" He was cut off when Toothless snatched up the biscuit and ate it.

_'_ _It's still good.'_ Toothless thought.

"We've got bigger problems than a biscuit!" Hiccup said, exasperated.

"He ate my biscuit! What kind of dragon takes a man's biscuit?" Snotlout complained."You know, his bad manners are a reflection on you!"

_'_ _And Hookfangs' behaviour is a definite reflection of you! It's hard to tell the difference!'_

Snotlout then saw the bent rod in Hiccups' hand and snatched it."Give me that. You're doing it all wrong. You need to put some muscle into it. Oops, I forgot, you can't! Hahaha!" He taunted as he started bending the rod more.

Hiccups' eyes widened as he saw what his cousin was doing. "No, no, no. Be careful with that, or it might-"

_SNAP_

His warning was too late as Snotlout snapped the rod into two. "You wanted two of 'em, right?" Snotlout asked, holding up to two pole pieces.

Hiccup was trying his hardest to keep his anger in. "Nope! That was our only hope of getting home."

"It's not my fault your dragon has half a tail. Just get another rod." Snotlout said, waving it off.

"Don't you understand? We have no idea where we are!" Hiccup yelled. He stopped when he saw that Toothless notice something in the distance."Shhh!"

"You hear that?" A voice asked.

"Over there." Another, more familiar, voice replied as footsteps were heard.

The two boys and dragon immediately hid behind some rocks.

"What do you see?" Snotlout asked a bit too loudly.

"Would you be quiet?" Hiccup whispered."For all we know, we could be on a hostile island."

"Don't be such a baby." Snotlout scoffed."How hostile can it be?"

He got his answer when he and his cousin looked and saw two familiar figures.

Outcasts.

"Those are wild dragon tracks alright." An Outcast said, looking at Toothless paw prints on the ground.

"Good. I feel like killing." Savage said with a smirk.

"Is that hostile enough for you?" Hiccup whispered to Snotlout as they stayed hidden from the Outcasts.

"Nothing over there!" Savage called.

"Nothin' there." The Outcast reported.

A deep pit formed in Hiccups' stomach as a realisation came to him "I know where we are now."

They were stranded on Outcast Island.

"Come on, this way!" Savage ordered as he walked away.

"Right behind ya."

The boys and Toothless came out of there hiding and walked in the opposite direction. "That was Savage. Snotlout, we're on Outcast Island. Outcast Island? I can't believe this! We've really got to fix this connecting rod and get out of here, or we are dead men." Hiccup ranted. He stopped when he noticed Snotlout eating some strange berries.'Snotlout, I'm not so sure you should be eating those berries."

"Well, I'm not sure you should be telling me what to eat, especially after you took my biscuit!" Snotlout retorted. He saw Toothless sniffing the berries in his hand. "Hey, back off. These are mine!"

"Those berries could be poisonous." Hiccup said. He once heard his sister mentioning that Outcast Island was one of the inhabitants for many poisonous fruits.

_'_ _Definitely poisonous.'_ Toothless commented after sniffing the berries.

"Hey, we're on Outcast Island. We're going into battle. We need our strength, a concept you know nothing about." Snotlout said.

"Battle the Outcasts? Really? Just the two of us?" Hiccup asked incredulously.

"Abtholutely" Snotlout replied in a lisp.

Hiccup raised his eyebrows at the response. "Wha-What did you just say?"

"I thaid, Abtholutely. As in, of courths." Snotlout said, not noticing what's wrong.

"Oh, for the love of- I told you not to eat those berries!" Hiccup said exasperated.

"Why? Whath wrong?" Snotlout ran to the nearby pond and checked the reflection of his tongue. It was completely swollen!"Oh, no, I'm hideouth!"

"Give me my satchel. I may have something that can help with your tongue." Hiccup instructed, thankful that he got some medical supplies from his sister before they left.

"Thatchel?" Snotlout asked, confused.

Hiccup looked at his cousin and realised that the satchel wasn't with him. "No, no, nooooo. Do not tell me you just left it there. If someone finds that "thatchel", we're done! It's got the Berk crest on it!"

Snotlout waved it off. "Relax. We're thafe. Trust me, no onethgonna find it."

What he didn't know was that he was wrong as the satchel was lying on the ground in plain sight where Savage found it. He immediately saw the Berk crest on it. "Oh, Alvin needs to see this."

At Berk, Stoick and the other teens were looking out into the ocean. "Well, they've been gone for a day. I thought you said they were right behind you!" The Berkian chief said.

"They probably set down to wait out the storm." Astrid suggested, though she was starting to get a little worried.

"Yeah, it'd be really hard to steer in the storm, especially for Hiccup and Toothless." Raeda agreed.

Fishlegs narrowed his eyes and spotted something coming from the distance. "I see something!" He pointed and the others watched as a familiar, burning dragon flew towards them.

As soon as the dragon landed, Astrid immediately recognised him. "It's Hookfang!"

"If Hookfang is here, where's Snotlout?" Fishlegs asked.

"And where are Hiccup and Toothless?" Astrid asked.

"This can't be good." Raeda said, worriedly.

Stoick made his decision. "Get your dragons ready; we're heading out!"

In the Outcast Arena, Alvin the Treacherous was looking at one of the wild Nadders in the cage. "I like this one. He's got the right spirit." But the Nadder made it clear that he wasn't going to listen to a word that the Outcast chief will say."Will I never get these dragons to do what I want?!"

"What you need is that book." An Outcast suggested.

"No, what we need is Stoick's boy and girl." Alvin retorted.

That was when Alvin right hand man came to him "Alvin!" Savage showed him the satchel he found with the Berks' crest on it.

Alvin saw the crest and grinned evilly. "The Berk crest. Ho-ho, is it my birthday?"

"Uh, I didn't get him anything. What does he like?" One Outcast whispered to another.

"Stop gossiping, and bring me the owner of this bag!" Alvin ordered.

"Do you want him alive?" The Outcast asked.

"Why not?" Alvin shrugged."For now."

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Snotlout and Toothless found a forge and were operating a stakeout from afar."Wait, wait, there it is. We just need to wait until the blacksmith leaves, and then I can sneak in there and make a new rod." Hiccup said, looking through his spyglass.

Snotlout was at the side with his tongue in a bowl full of medicine Hiccup made for the tongue. "How long do I hab to leab my tongue in here? Its dithgusting! I saw Toothleth spit in it."

Hiccup smiled at Toothless before answering. "He did, indeed! But, but, uh, Night Fury saliva has incredible healing properties."

"Ugh, it tastes like yak pies. Are you sure this is the right medicine you heard from Hicca?"

"Yep. Ask her yourself. This medicine will have your tongue cured in no time." Hiccup said, though it was a lie. Actually Hiccup got a look at the berries that Snotlout ate and thanks to what his sister told him, those kind of berries only give temporary effects. He was messing with his cousin in retaliation for getting them stuck on the island. He made a mental note to ask his sister to support his claim if their cousin ever asks her.

Out at the sea, Stoick Gobber and the teens were looking for Hiccup, Snotlout and Toothless with Gobber riding Hookfang. It wasn't easy for the blacksmith as the Monstrous Nightmare kept flaming up. "Waaaah, Whoa! Ahaha, easy there! Whoo, dragon! Good thing I packed my iron skivvies. That's it, dragon. Follow your master's scent."

"It's Snotlout. How hard can that be?" Astrid commented.

"Unfortunately, not really." Raeda said.

"Are we there yet?" Tuffnut asked the chief.

"NO!" The chief yelled for the hundredth time.

"I have to go to the bathroom!" Ruffnut complained.

"You should have gone before we left." Stoick retorted.

"That's what your helmet's for." Tuffnut said as Ruffnut looked at her helmet.

"Hang on. I think the dragon's got a sniff!" Gobber shouted when he saw Hookfang perking up.

On Outcast Island, Hiccup, Toothless and Snotlout were making their way to the blacksmith stall. "Come on, hurry! We don't know how long the blacksmith is going to be gone."

Snotlout, however, wasn't quite focused "Betty Bodabought a bit of bitter butter, 'And', said she, 'This butter's bitter.' If I bought a bit of bitter butter, it would-"

"What... are... you... doing?" Hiccup demanded, getting more and more annoyed.

"Enjoying my tongue again." Snotlout answered.

"Well, that makes one of us." Hiccup muttered.

Then Snotlout saw a Monstrous Nightmare in the distance. "Hookfang!" He exclaimed, running up to the dragon. Unfortunately, he was wrong as the Monstrous Nightmareresponded by blasting him to the rocks! "Whoa! Not Hookfang."

"It's a wild Monstrous Nightmare!" Hiccup yelled. The Monstrous Nightmare snapped at Toothless, who roared back."Toothless, stop!" Hiccup managed to calm Toothless down before slowly approaching the wild dragon. He extended his hand out to gain the dragons trust, but before the Monstrous Nightmare could make contact with the palm, a voice came from the distance.

"There they are, the Berk intruders!" The two boys looked and saw a few soldiers heading their way, all armed. The Monstrous Nightmare blasted fire at the Outcasts, giving an opportunity for the three to escape.

"Run!" Hiccup yelled as they made a break for it. They headed to a shallow crevice when Hiccup turned to Toothless."Circle back around, bud!" Toothless nodded and ran the opposite direction, leading the Outcasts away from the two boys.

"There they go, that way!"

Hiccup watched them leave and sighed in relief. "Good, they're gone. Alright, we'll just wait here until Toothless comes back, then head to the blacksmith shop."

"No way! I'm not going anywhere near that place." Snotlout said stubbornly."You almost got us caught!"

" _I_ almost got-?" Hiccup asked incredulously."The only reason the Outcasts know where here is because _you_ lost the satchel with the Berk crest on it!"

"Well, who brought the satchel with the Berk crest on it to Outcast Island?" Snotlout retorted.

"Well, I had no idea we were going to Outcast Island!" Hiccup said exasperated.

"So _you're_ not prepared, and _I_ get blamed? Hmm."

Hiccup was reaching his limits with his cousin. "Fine. If you don't like my ideas, please, please let me hear one of yours." Snotlout just looked at him."Precisely as I suspected!" That was when Toothless came to them, having been able to ditch the Outcast men."There you go. Good job, bud! At least _someone_ is pulling their weight around here."

"Oh, you are _so_ smug!" Snotlout sneered.

" ** _ME?!_** **"** Hiccup exclaimed in disbelief. _Snotlout_ was the one saying _Hiccup_ was smug.

"'Hiccup and Hicca are so smart! They're so brave! They killed the Red Death! They trained the dragons! Hicca's got great healer skills. Hiccup's got the metal leg!'" Snotlout mimicked.

"Metal leg?!" Hiccup exclaimed." _That's_ what's bothering you? _That's_ where you're going? Metal leg?!"

"No! It's everything the leg is attached to!" Snotlout shouted, gesturing to Hiccup.

"Okay. Well, deal with it, Snotlout. Because, right now, I am literally all you've got!"

"Oh, you think I need you? I _DON'T_ need you!"

"Well, I don't need _you_! Go!" Snotlout did just so, leaving Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup looked at Toothless."It's him, right?"

_'_ _Definitely him.'_ Toothless commented. _'And…maybe a bit of you.'_

Back at the ocean, the dragon riders were still on their search and rescue mission when Fishlegs noticed something floating in the water. "You guys need to see this."

Astrid saw it and flew Stormfly tight towards it. "Okay, Stormfly, tail flip!" Stormfly did as she was told and used her tail to scoop up the object.

Raeda recognised the object. "Please don't tell me that's what I think it is."

Astrids' eyes widened as she saw what it was. "It's Toothless' tail."

Fishlegs got more worried. "Oh, no, Toothless lost his tail. If Toothless doesn't have a tail, he can't fly. If he can't fly, they can't fly. If they can't fly-"

Stoick did not want Fishlegs to finish that sentence. "Enough! Those boys are probably stranded at sea. We fly close to the water."

"Good, because I _really_ need to rinse out my helmet." Ruffnut said.

Back at Outcast Island, the blacksmith finally left his stall and Hiccup and Toothless immediately went inside. Toothless, however, could not fit through the bar filled door. "Back there, bud. Stay hidden." Hiccup said.

Toothless did just that and managed to lay low...

Until a wild Gronckle spotted him.

The Gronckle attacked the Night Fury and Toothless fought back. He was too distracted from the fight that he ended falling in a gorge!

Unaware that his dragon is no longer standing guard outside, Hiccup was finishing hammering the new connecting rod until he got interrupted when a hand grabbed his hammer.

The owner of the hand turned out to be Savage! "And what are we making, Hiccup?"

Hiccup gulped "A gift for... Alvin! To thank him for his hospitality." Hiccup sighed. Even he didn't believe his excuse."Oh, boy."

"You can thank him in person." Savage said smugly. He then turned to the other Outcasts."Grab him!"

Meanwhile, Snotlout was putting on the finishing touches on a raft. He then pushed the raft into the ocean "You're not the only one who can come up with a good idea, Hiccup." Snotlout said in triumph as he stood on the raft."Ha, ha! Snotlout, Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi..." His triumph was short-lived when the raft started to sink. Quickly, he swam back to shore and laid down in his back. "Good thing he wasn't here to see that." He said looking at the sky. Suddenly, Toothless came into his view. "Toothless?" Snotlout asked getting up. He then looked around for his cousin."Wherever you are, Hiccup, I _still_ don't need you!" However, he saw that Hiccup was nowhere in sight"Hiccup! Hiccup?" Toothless started pushing the Jorgenson boy urgently in the direction he came in."Oh, I get it. Hiccup needs my help!"

Snotlout followed Toothless all the way back to the stall where Snotlout went inside to investigate. Toothless stayed outside and looked inside. "Hiccup! Hiccup. Stupid dragon, he's not even here." Snotlout muttered. He looked down and saw the connecting rod Hiccup dropped and picked it up."Hmm, this looks familiar." He was too busy looking at the rod that he almost didn't notice the axe being swung at him!"AAAH!" Looking up, Snotlout saw that the blacksmith was still there and must have stepped into the other room before he came. Using the connecting rod as a weapon, Snotlout engaged in combat against the older Outcast. Unable to fit through the bars of the door, Toothless could only watch the fight. Luckily, Snotlout managed to disarm the blacksmith and knock him into a pile of shields.

Smiling smugly, the Jorgenson boy turned to the male Night Fury, about to brag, when Toothless' roar made him turn around and see that the blacksmith got up and got a hammer! He disarms Snotlout and pushes him to the ground. Just when he is about to deliver the final blow, Snotlout manages to roll out of the way just in time. Toothless fires a plasma blast at the connecting rod on the floor, sending it flying back into Snotlouts' hand. Snotlout uses the connecting rod to hit the blacksmith towards Toothless. The male Night Fury then head-butts the Outcasts across the room with all his might, knocking the blacksmith out.

Taking the connecting rod with him, Snotlout walks out of the forge. "You know what, Toothless? We make pretty good team. I might not give you back..." He was cut off when Toothless started snarling at him, clearly not liking the was no way he was going to leave Hiccup for this idiot. _'Don't you get any ideas!'_

"Kidding." Snotlout said, holding his hands up in surrender.

_'_ _You better be.'_

They heard voices in the distance and saw Savage and a few other Outcasts at the cliff side, taking Hiccup prisoner. "Now, let's get 'em, Toothless!"

They were about to go when another Outcast spotted them. Both the boy and the dragon prepared for another fight but before the Outcast could attack either of them, he was struck from behind by a figure.

Snotlout looked at the figure and was surprised by who it was. "You?!"

At the cliff side, Savage started questioning Hiccup. "Stoick wouldn't have sent you here alone. Where's the rest of your party?"

"Oh, no. No, no. It's me, just me. Taking a little vacation, you know." Hiccup lied."I heard Outcast Island is beautiful this time of year."

"Yeah, right." Savaged scoffed. "Where's your twin hiding? She can't be that far if you're here."

"Nope not this time." Hiccup said, secretly thankful that he didn't make Hicca come with him. "Just me all by myself."

Savage eyed the boy, obviously not believing a word he says. "Oh, Alvin will find out the truth from you. In fact, he'll enjoy it, but trust me, you won't." He then shoved Hiccup forward."Move!"

Alvin was on top of the cliff with some Outcast looking at the captured Berkian through a spyglass. "Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me!"

"I'm confused. Is it your birthday or not?" The Outcast asked.

Alvin turned to the Outcast. "As far as you're concerned, everyday's me birthday. Now, prepare the dragons. Their trainer has arrived!" Alvin ordered. The Outcast chief turned back to watch his prisoner being escorted towards him. "And pretty soon we will have two trainers when his other half joins him." Alvin said referring to Hicca, knowing well that she will come to them with her brother captured.

What no one knew was that Hiccup, Savage and the Outcasts with them were being watched by another party in the distance. As soon as they reached a ravine, some of the boulders fell from above!

"Run!" Savage ordered. Two of the Outcasts grabbed Hiccup and dragged him with them as they ran the other way.

"Toothless, now!" Snotlout shouted as he and the male Night Fury flew in. Toothless shot plasma blasts after plasma blast at the Outcast, weakening them.

"Back the other way!" Savage shouted as they turned around.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted.

Before they could go any further another plasma blast shot out from the sky, sending the Outcasts flying back. The Outcasts and Hiccup looked up and saw that it came from a very familiar female Night Fury.

"Hicca!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I bro?" Hicca said with a mock-scowl, crossing her arms. "I mean of _all_ the islands around here you guys could have crash-landed on, you chose Outcast Island! Unbelievable."

_Flashback_

_Hicca went to the cliff to stare out into the ocean and was joined by Midnight. Stoick and Gobber went back to their work and the other teens went to do their own things._

_Hicca turned to her dragon. "Midnight, if it's one thing I've learned from being Hiccups' twin sister; it's that if I have a feeling something is wrong, I should never ignore it." Midnight warbled in agreement. She too, was worried about her mate and his human._

_Hicca then got on Midnight. Knowing what her rider is thinking, Midnight didn't need a command as she got ready to take off when a voice stopped her._

_"_ _Hicca!"_

_Hicca turned to see her best friend Raeda walking towards her. "You're going to find your brother and cousin, aren't you?" Raeda asked, knowingly._

_"_ _Yeah, Rae. I know better than to ignore my instincts. Can you cover for me?"_

_"_ _I will. Just hurry back."_

_Hicca nodded and she and Midnight flew off._

_End Flashback_

"Sorry, sis. Next time I'll ask the waterspout make us crash at less hostile island." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"There better not be a next time." Hicca warned.

Alvin saw the whole thing and was not happy about one bit. "Grrr... as usual, I can rely on no one but myself." He put down the spy-glass and made his way to the ravine.

"Hiccup!" Snotlout yelled, warning the auburn haired boy that one of the Outcasts got up and is about to grab him. The Jorgenson boy quickly threw the connecting rod he held to his cousin. Hiccup caught the rod and with all his strength, slammed the rod in the Outcasts' face, knocking him out.

Quickly, Hiccup ran to Toothless, who happily licked him in the face. "Ah, good to see you, too! Thanks guys!" He attached the connecting rod to Toothless makeshift prosthetic tail and got on the saddle.

"Let's save this happy reunion for the skies, shall we." Hicca said as Midnight fired plasma blasts at Savage and the Outcasts, forcing them to run.

"You better run! Ha, ha, ha!" Snotlout called in triumph. He got on Toothless behind Hiccup and the five of them were able to make their escape.

"Need some help?" Alvin asked, arriving at the scene with more Outcasts armed with crossbows. The Outcast immediately fired at the two Night Furies. Luckily, Toothless and Midnight were able to dodge all the arrows. Alvin became frustrated by this. "Shoot them down! Fire!" But it was pointless as the teens and dragons disappeared from view."How does those ninety pound each boy and girl repeatedly defeat an entire army of bloodthirsty savages?"

"Would, uh, you like me to answer that?" Savage asked meekly.

"I know the answer!" Alvin spat out. He continued to glare at the direction that the teens flew off"They'll be back, if I have to bring them here myself, they'll be back."

In the air, Hiccup, Hicca and Snotlout rejoiced in their victory. "Whoo-hooo! Do you two realize what we just did?" He asked his sister and cousin.

"We totally kicked butt, duh!" Snotlout said proudly.

"Yeah, and we kicked butt _together_!" Hiccup pointed out.

"Congrats, Snotlout. Your plan worked for once." Hicca praised.

Hiccup was surprised to hear that. "Wait, the ambush attack was Snotlouts' idea?"

Hicca nodded. "As soon as Midnight and I found Snotlout and Toothless, Snotlout immediately told me what happen and came up with this plan."

"Wow."

"I know I'm awesome." Snotlout bragged.

"Yeah, you certainly have your moments." Hicca commented. "So, getting stuck on Outcast Island with each other, huh boys? That must have been quite an uphill battle."

"You have no idea." Hiccup and Snotlout said.

Remembering their argument on Outcast Island, Hiccup turned to his cousin."Look, Snotlout, I'm-"

"Hungry, right?" Snotlout asked with a wink, cutting him off.

"Yeah, exactly." Hiccup said, understandingly.

"Me too!" Snotlout agreed.

Hiccup smiled and, noticing his twins' questioning stare, mouthed. "I'll tell you later."

"Hey, what's that?" Fishlegs asked the others, pointing in the distance. Two figures were flying towards them.

Astrids' eyes brightened when she recognised one of the figures. "It's Hiccup!"

"Hicca's with them." Raeda noted.

"And they picked up a baby seal!" Tuffnut remarked, referring to Snotlout.

Fishlegs saw who the 'baby seal' actually was "Snotlout!"

"Son, you're safe!" Stoick said relieved.

"We never had a doubt." Gobber reassured with a grin.

After seeing that his son has no visible signs of injury, Stoick then turned to his daughter. "Hicca, you shouldn't have flown off like that. I was worried about you as well." When Raeda told him where Hicca went it took her, Astrid, Fishlegs and Gobber to reassure the chief that his daughter would be okay and that she has a Night Fury who will protect her.

"Sorry dad, but all that my mind was saying was that my brother and my cousin have gotten themselves in danger again and I needed to go look for them. And I was right." Hicca replied. Stoick was just happy to see both of his children alive and safe.

"Hello? Other part of the team." Snotlout reminded them, gesturing to himself. He felt a nude on his back."Hookfang!" Happy to see his rider again, Hookfang took the boy in his mouth."I'm still mad at you!" Snotlout said in the dragons' mouth. The dragon then tossed his rider in the air and on his saddle, right in front of Gobber.

**_Sometimes the last person you want to rely on is the one you end up being stuck with, and being stuck with Snotlout was no picnic. But who knew how much I could rely on him?_ **


	18. Breakneck Bog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup, Hicca and the gang head out to find Trader Johann who was supposed to deliver an important gift to Stock the Vast

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 17: Breakneck Bog**

**_Everybody has lost something they thought they couldn't live without. Sometimes to find it again you have to be willing to do anything. Even look fear right in the eye. Just make sure you don't blink._ **

At Stoicks' orders he, Gobber, Hicca and Hiccup were on Thornado, Midnight and Toothless searching for Trader Johann. Stoick made it clear that it was important that they find him, although he wouldn't say why.

"Where is he? He's been late before, but never this late." Stoick muttered, looking around the ocean for the well-known trader.

"Are you sure Trader Johann even has it?" Gobber asked, the only one who knows why they are looking for him.

"I'm sure!" Stoick said firmly."I heard from Jorgensen, who heard from Stevenson the Shepard who told that Toldstad the Fisherman who said he saw Johann put it on his boat himself."

"Well, it can't possibly get any clearer than that." Gobber said sarcastically.

"Yep, nothing is clearer than an indirect line of gossip." Hicca added with equal sarcasm.

"You know, it might help if Hicca and I actually knew what we are supposed to look out for." Hiccup spoke up.

But the chief was adamant about his children not knowing what they were looking for. "We're looking for Johann. That's all you two need to know."

"Not to worry, old friend. It'll arrive safely and in good time." Gobber said reassuringly.

Noticing the distress look in their dads' face, Hiccup and Hicca shared a look.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, bro?" Hicca asked in a low voice so that neither their father nor Gobber would hear.

Hiccup nodded. "Yep. The four of us are going on a little field trip." He said to his sister and their dragons.

After an unsuccessful search for the trader, they all went back to Berk. Stoick went to attend to his chiefly duties while Gobber went to work at the forge. Meanwhile Hicca and Hiccup were stocking up on their 'field trip'. As soon as they got their supplies, they went back to the Academy. They decided to go by themselves without the other dragon riders.

"Got the map, sis?" Hiccup asked.

"Right here." Hicca answered, holding up the map for her brother to see.

"Okeydokey." Hiccup said looking at the map."We'll start in the west islands and work our way back."

"Back from where?" Astrid asked as she and Stormfly came into the Academy.

"Ah, jus-just a quick spin around the island." Hiccup lied nervously.

"Yeah, you know the usual, everyday thing we do." Hicca added.

Astrid raised her eyebrows at them, not believing a word they're saying. She then inspected their inventory. "Uh-huh. Quick spin, huh? So for this "quick spin" you guys decided to pack enough food that could feed Snotlouts' family?" Astrid asked, holding up a salmon.

"Did I hear my name?" Snotlout asked walking in."Oooh! Do I see a salmon?" Snotlout snatched the salmon from Astrids' hand.

Seeing no way out of this, Hiccup decided to tell them the truth. "Uh... Alright. Look. If you must know..."

"And we must..." Astrid said

"Hmmm, hmmm." Snotlout agreed as he ate the fish.

"We're going to do something for our father." Hiccup explained. The look on Astrids' face said that he needed to explain more."Okay. Okay. Trader Johann is bringing something for him, something important and he should have been here by now."

"You're not trading this fish, are you?" Snotlout asked, holding up the fish."Because it's delicious!Hey!" Hookfang snatched the salmon from Snotlout and ate it. Annoyed, Snotlout snapped his fingers, commanding his dragon to give the salmon back. Reluctantly, Hookfang gave the salmon back in his humans' hand and Snotlout continued to eat it, to the others' disgust.

_'_ _I am so going to eat your dinner again, tonight.'_ Hookfang said in his dragon language. Too bad Snotlout didn't know dragonese…

"You know that can be bad for your stomach, right?" Hicca asked, referring to the regurgitated salmon. Snotlout just gave a shrug in response.

"When do we leave?" Astrid asked.

" _Hiccup and I_ were just getting our supplies ready and _the two of us_ along with Toothless and Midnight were going to leave." Hicca answered.

"Yeah, Hicca and I need to go alone. If we all disappear, our dad will get suspicious." Hiccup explained.

"Go alone? You two without us?" Snotlout asked dubiously."Ha, ha! Like you two could handle anything if we weren't there to bail you-" He started choking when he accidently swallowed a bone."Ugh... Help!"

"Put some pressure on his stomach, it will help." Hicca advised.

"Got it." Astrid said. She gave a strong punch to Snotlouts' stomach, causing the Jorgenson boy to cough up the bone.

"Out..." Snotlout wheezed.

"Yeah, I think it's the other way around. For you at least." Hicca said.

Hiccup sighed, knowing his friends were going to be persistent in coming with them. "Alright, fine... You two can come, but that's it. Don't even tell the others. Heed my warning. I am serious."

_Five minutes later_

Hiccup was flying on Toothless, with an annoyed expression.

"Hey, Hiccup, Snotlout told us there'll be salmon. And I love lox." Tuffnut called as he and his sister rode on Barf and Belch.

Yep, it seemed that someone (*cough* *cough* Snotlout) didn't really take Hiccups' warning seriously and told Fishlegs, Raeda, Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"I'm pretty sure I said 'Don't tell the others'." Hiccup reminded Snotlout.

"And I'm pretty sure I didn't listen to you." Snotlout retorted.

"You do you realize, Hiccup, that even if Snotlout didn't tell us, the moment I'll notice you guys were missing I would go look for you. I'm not one to miss out on the action." Raeda said. Both Hiccup and Hicca couldn't help but agree to that. They wouldn't be surprised if she actually did manage to find them.

"Hiccup, aren't you always saying it's better when we work as a team?" Fishlegs pointed out.

"See, bro? This is what happens when you offer words of wisdom; it get's thrown back in your face." Hicca said.

"I can see that... Next time I say that, just slap me in the face." Hiccup requested, rolling his eyes.

"I'll do it right now." Ruffnut offered, holding up her hand.

"She will. And she slaps like a guy." Tuffnut informed them."It's awesome! Watch!" To demonstrate, Ruffnut slapped her brother."Yeah..."

Astrid spotted something floating in the ocean. "Hey! Look!"

"I can't see anything through the tears." Tuffnut commented, still relishing in the slap.

Hiccup saw what, or who, Astrid was pointing at. "Is that... Johann?" Sure enough, there was Trader Johann floating on a large piece of wood.

"I thought he had a bigger boat than that." Snotlout said.

"Come on, gang. Let's check that out!" Hiccup ordered.

They rescued Trader Johann from the ocean and settled at the nearest island so that Hicca could examine him. "The fog... The fog..." Trader Johann muttered.

"I think he's still in shock." Hicca said finishing her examination.

"Johann, where is your ship?" Hiccup asked.

"No idea. All I know is, one minute, I was sailing in a perfectly calm sea, the wind at my back, and the next thing I know, my entire ship is pulled out from under me and I'm shark bait." Johann answered.

"I don't understand." Hiccup said.

"I do. I was three days late and trying to make up time and I got too close!" Johann explained.

"Too close to what?" Fishlegs asked.

"Too close to... Breakneck Bog!"

All the teens gasped. "Breakneck Bog..."

"Many a ship has sailed into its waters, few have returned." Fishlegs said, getting frightened.

"My parents told me it's haunted by a Viking from the Hysterics Tribe with a grudge." Raeda said.

"My grandfather has told me it's pirates." Astrid said.

"That's ridiculous!" Snotlout scoffed. "Everyone knows it's haunted by a Fog Monster."

"Fog Monster?!" Fishlegs squeaked.

"Legend says the Fog Monster makes this really creepy moan." Tuffnut said in an ominous voice, creeping up to Fishlegs."Then he surrounds you and scrapes the skin off your bones!"

"AAH!" Fishlegs shrunk in.

Tuffnut continued the story "And then he scrapes the bones off of... whatever is under those."

"And then it drops the bones from the sky." Ruffnut added.

"Yes, yes it's true!" Trader Johann said hurriedly."What he says. It- it... surrounded me!"

"See? Fog Monster!" Snotlout said smugly to Astrid and Raeda."Pirates...Hysterics... ha-ha... stupid grandfather and parents."

"Want to say that to my parents face?" Raeda asked.

Snotlout suddenly became really scared. "No." He said in a quiet voice.

"Johann, we have to find your ship. There's something on it for my father." Hiccup said as his sister nodded in agreement.

"Yes, yes, yes, there was, but it wasn't for your father. It was for you two."

"For us? From who?" Hiccup and Hicca asked.

"He didn't tell either of you? It was from your mother." Johann said.

"Our mother?" Hiccup said, his eyes widening.

"No way." Hicca said in disbelief.

"That's impossible." Astrid agreed.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked, both he and his sister were more curious to know what it is.

"I have no idea, lad." Trader Johann answered."I just know it's in a chest with the Berk crest on it."

"We can't turn back now." Hicca said with determination. "We can't leave without getting that chest."

"I agree with Hicca." Hiccup said with the same determination as his sister. "We have to find it." He turned to Trader Johann."Take us back there. You- you show us where you were when you lost your ship."

But apparently the trader hasn't forgotten about his early fright. "NO! NOOOOOO! I won't! You can't make me! I have a knife in my boot!"He threatened. Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked on with excitement, hoping the man would take the knife out and go crazy, while Raeda got her bow and arrow ready just in case. "I don't have a knife in my boot..." He admitted. The blonde twins' faces fell with disappointment while the raven-haired girl lowered her weapon."But no more fog, please."

"Alright, just tell us how we can find Breakneck Bog." Hiccup compromised.

Trader Johann agreed to it, as long as he doesn't have to go with them. "Head due East. There's a group of islands in the shape of a man's hand. Breakneck Bog is the thumb." He instructed.

"Snotlout, you and the Thorston twins take him back to Berk." Hiccup ordered.

Snotlout was not happy about this. "Back to Berk? With _this_ clown and _those_ clowns?" He exclaimed, gesturing to Johann and the Thorston twins.

"Would you look at him?" Hiccup said, gesturing to Johann."You don't have any choice. And if anything happens, you'll be glad you have them with you."

"He's in a good enough health to be left with you guys." Hicca said.

"Question: What are the rest of us doing?" Fishlegs said nervously, hoping the answer isn't what he thinks it is.

Unfortunately for him, it was. "We're going to Breakneck Bog."

So the team split up, with Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut taking Trader Johann back to Berk and Hicca, Hiccup, Raeda, Fishlegs and Astrid heading to Breakneck Bog.

Throughout the trip, Fishlegs tried to convince the others to turn back. "What if I gave you guys something from my mother?" He bargained."Or I could give you my mother! You two know you both love her crab cakes!"

"As true as that fact is Fishlegs, we're still not turning back." Hicca said.

Astrid and Raeda decided to scare the poor Ingerman boy. "The fooooog... the foooooooooog..." Astrid said in an ominous voice.

"It will scrape the skin right off your boonnnnes." Raeda said eerily.

"AH! Tears, Astrid and Raeda? Is that what you two want to see?" Fishlegs said, frightened.

Hiccup spotted the Island. "Look! There it is."

"Breakneck Bog." Fishlegs said fearfully.

Meanwhile Snotlout, Johann and the Thorston twins were making their way back to Berk.

"Still waiting on that salmon." Tuffnut said.

_'_ _Same here.'_ Belch said.

"This job is lame." Snotlout complained. He looked behind his shoulder at Johann, who still hasn't gotten over the terror he has been through."And so are you. Stop crying!"

At Breakneck Bog, the five dragon riders and dragons have been walking around the Island, looking for any signs of the boat but not luck. "I don't get it. We flew all around the island. No boat." Hiccup said.

"Not even the remains of a boat." Astrid said.

"You know who would take a boat? A Fog Monster!" Fishlegs said panicking.

"Hang on, Fish. There could other ways for the boat to be missing." Raeda pointed out. "I mean maybe it crashed on the shore and the remains got swept by the sea or something."

"I really hope not." Hicca said.

They were interrupted when all the dragons started growling. "Settle down, bud." Hiccup said to Toothless.

"Sparkfire, what's wrong?" Raeda asked her dragon.

"It's okay, Meatlug. It's okay." Fishlegs soothed the Gronckle.

Suddenly, everyone was quiet when they heard a strange sound in the distance. "What was that?" Astrid asked.

"Only one way to find out." Hiccup answered as he started leading everyone to the direction of the sound.

"Wait a minute! You don't go _towards_ the weird scary sound! It'll only lead to trouble" Fishlegs said nervously.

"You're forgetting something, Fishlegs; we always go to the 'weird scary noise'." Astrid countered.

"That's how we get answers." Raeda agreed.

"I hate that about us." Fishlegs grumbled as he and Meatlug walked to join the others. They continued to walk for a bit, until they found a whole area covered with bones"Agh... Bones... That's just perfect."

The ten of them continued to look around to find any signs of Trader Johanns' boat when something caught Stormflys' attention.

_'_ _Watch out!'_ The blue Nadder immediately grabbed her rider by her tunic and lifted her away from where she was standing, saving Astrid from getting struck by a fallen anchor. "Ah!" She and the others looked up from where it fell from."Wow! Trader Johann's ship!" The five teens were shocked to find that the boat was stick on top of a large tree.

"Found it." Hicca said.

"Wow! He really got off course." Hiccup commented.

"Fog Monster." Fishlegs muttered.

Raeda tilted her head and used her hands to frame the scene before her. "This would be a really great idea for Halloween." ( **A/N: Do Vikings celebrate Halloween? :P Oh well let's just say they do.** )

"Really? You're focusing on _that_." Fishlegs asked incredulously.

Raeda shrugged. "We're definitely going to go on the boat. Might as well warm up to the idea." She stated.

And she was right because soon enough, the teens got on their dragons and flew to the boat (despite Fishlegs protests, much to the blonde boys' dismay), however the dragons refused to set foot on the boat. Instead they hovered.

"They're afraid. And they're dragons." Fishlegs pointed out."So we should ask ourselves: What are we doing?"

"Come on, Fishlegs. We survived being in a tunnel with a Whispering Death, we can definitely survive this." Hicca said reassuringly.

"That boat's not gonna hold them." Hiccup said, referring to the dragons."We have to jump down and send the dragons below."

"Great. That's just perfect." Fishlegs muttered. He already didn't like the idea of getting on the boat, but now he had to do it without Meatlug to protect him.

Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda and Astrid jumped off their dragons and landed on the boat with no problem. Fishlegs, however, landed on his back with a thud.

"Toothless, ground." Hiccup ordered. The others gave similar commands to their dragons and all five dragons followed and landed on the ground.

"Stay where you can hear Daddy!" Fishlegs called to Meatlug from the ship.

_'_ _I will definitely hear you!'_ Meatlug replied, although she knew her rider wouldn't understand.

Hiccup started looking around the deck. "Okay, so let's just find this thing and get out of here. We're looking for a chest with the Berk crest on it."

The search was interrupted when a bone fell from the sky. "Huh?! Care to explain that?" Fishlegs asked, starting to get scared.

Before anyone could think of an explanation, a shower of bones poured on them!

"Below deck!" Astrid exclaimed. There were no arguments there as the five teens ran below the deck as fast as they could to avoid the raining bones. As soon as they got there, the bones stopped pouring down.

Hiccup tried to get the others calm and positive. "Ah, it's just a little... bone-shower. And it passed."

"Bone-shower... So I'm the only one who thinks that's weird?" Fishlegs asked.

Astrid, Raeda and Hicca raised their hands to agree with Fishlegs.

"Okay... It's a little weird." Hiccup said.

"'A little weird?'" Hicca asked incredulously. "Understatement of the year, bro."

The teens were silent when they scraping sounds from above the deck. "That is also weird." Fishlegs whispered.

"Okay, let's just start looking for the chest and quickly." Hiccup said."That really doesn't sound like friendly scraping."

"Is there evena such thing as 'friendly scraping'" Hicca asked. Her brother just shrugged. "But I agree with you, the sooner we find that chest the sooner we can get out of here."

"No rush, I'm getting a lot of inspiration for the 'haunted ship' for Halloween. I also got a good back-story forming in my head." Raeda said happily.

"I'm definitely won't be going on _that_ boat." Fishlegs stated, shuddering as he knew how well Raeda can make something look _very_ scary with her creativity and artistic skill.

The five teens split up and checked every corner of the ship looking for the chest. It went peacefully, until Fishlegs felt something on his shoulder. Gulping, the scared Ingerman boy slowly turned around to find a skeletal hand touching his shoulder through a crack at the wall!

"AAAAAHHHHAAAAAAAHHH!"

Hicca looked around one corner of the ship when her eyes spotted a lone chest resting on top of a crate. On further inspection, her eyes widened when she saw a very familiar crest on it.

"Hiccup!" She called. Her brother came running to her and she pointed to the chest.

Hiccup smiled at the sight. "We found it." He said.

"Yeah, we did." Hicca said happily.

Hiccup took the chest in his arms. "What do you think it could be?"

"I don't know but what I do know is that we're definitely keeping this safe in our house where it belongs. Mom would have been really happy, that we found it."

"Yeah, she would have." Hiccup agreed with a smile. He put an arm around his sisters' shoulders, giving her a hug which Hicca returned. Their mom died when Hiccup and Hicca were babies so they didn't have many memories of their mother to remember her by. So whatever they have that was from her, they treasured it. And the contents in the chest would be added to that.

A familiar scream caused the auburn-haired twins to look up and see Fishlegs running towards them in fright. Raeda and Astrid were right behind him.

"Fishlegs, we found it!" Hiccup informed him, holding up the chest.

"We can get out of here." Hicca added.

"Oh, oh, thank Thor!" Fishlegs said, relieved."There was a hand, no skin, all scraped off." He tried to explain, but was cut off by a _louder_ scraping sound from above.

"It's coming after us!" Astrid exclaimed.

Clutching the chest close, Hiccup looked around hoping to find a way out. He found a nearby closet. "Hide! In there!" Hiccup, Hicca, Astrid and Fishlegs ran to the closet, but Raeda stood her ground. Getting her bow and arrows ready, the Henderson girl was ready to confront whatever was the cause of this until Hicca and Hiccup pulled her to the closet.

"Too risky, Rae. We have no idea if there is actually a person behind this." Hiccup whispered.

"I don't want to believe it either, but the idea of the fog monster is becoming more and more viable." Hicca said.

Agreeing with them, Raeda went with her best human friends and hid with Astrid and Fishlegs in the closet. She still kept her bow and arrow ready just in case it was actually a person behind this.

"Nobody... breathe." Hiccup instructed the others while keeping a firm hold to the chest. They heard footsteps getting closer and closer to the closet and the jingle on the doorknob indicated that someone was trying to open it!

"I just want you to know, I love you guys." Fishlegs whispered to the other four.

The door flung open and the five teens screamed. Panicking, Raeda shot an arrow, not even bothering to check her aim which resulted in the arrow hitting the ceiling.

Once the teens calmed down, they saw some familiar faces.

"Hey, guys! Need a haaaaaaaand?" Tuffnut mocked, holding up the skeletal hand.

Being the first one to recover from the fright, Astrid tackled Tuffnut to the ground and started hitting him repeatedly with the skeletal arm in a fit of rage.

**"** YEOUCH! OW! AUGH! Ruffnut! Do! Something!" Tuffnut pleaded through the numerous hits he's been receiving from the enraged shield maiden. Ruffnut decided to take the arm fromAstrid...only to continue hitting her brother with it. "YOUCH! OW! AUGH!"

After being able to collect himself, Hiccup decided to step in. "Alright, alright. Break it up, you guys."

Ruffnut stopped hitting her brother, but Astrid took the skeletal arm back and decided to get a few more hits in. "Ouch! Ow-ow! YEOUCH! Uuuuuuugh..."

"So let me get this straight." Hiccup said, pinching the bridge of his nose."This was all you. The bones, the scraping?"

"That's right." Snotlout said proudly."And this was all you: 'Ooh! Ah! Eek!'" He mocked in a high-pitched voice.

"Actually, most of that was me." Fishlegs admitted.

"Oh, gods... Why-why would you do that?" Hiccup asked Snotlout."What were you thinking?!"

"That this would be the perfect payback for sticking me with Trader Johann." His cousin answered.

Hiccup then noticed that the trader wasn't with them. "Speaking of Trader Johann, where is he?"

"Don't worry about him. He's fine." Snotlout said, waving it off.

"Somehow, I doubt that." Hicca said.

And she was right, because it turns out that Snotlout and the blonde twins left Trader Johann on a lone sea-stack in the middle of the ocean.

"Just so you know, I'm not going to forget this." Astrid said to Snotlout before punching him.

Hicca noticed that Raeda wasn't saying anything. "You seem awfully calm about this, Rae."

"I am, Hicca, and for two reasons." Raeda said. "One: this whole thing is pure haunted ship gold and two: my revenge on these three will be so much better."

The three guilty teens gulped. If it was one thing Raeda could do well besides art and archery, it was pranks. They better watch out.

Astrid then noticed that Snotlout was wearing a big, gold necklace around his neck. "And what's with that stupid necklace?"

"Like it?" Snotlout asked, holding the necklace up."Yeah. Just a little something I found on deck. I can grab one for you if you want." Astrid just rolled her eyes at him.

Before anyone could say anything else, the boat started rocking back and forth. It then fell out of the tree and crashed onto the ground!

"Everybody okay?" Hiccup asked getting up, still holding the chest.

"If by 'okay' you mean 'still alive' then yes, we are." Hicca replied.

To add to the fright, fog started coming through the crack of the walls!"RUUUUUUN!" Hiccup yelled. The teens didn't need to be told twice as they ran to the stairs. Before anyone could climb up, however, the fog blocked their path!

"Just so you know, this fog, not us." Snotlout said, getting scared.

"I was hoping you would say it was you." Hicca said.

"Okay, I'll admit. Starting to come around on the 'Fog Monster' theory." Hiccup admitted.

The fog covered the entire lower deck, surrounding the teens in darkness. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

After what felt like hours for the teens, the fog finally cleared up.

Fishlegs found himself on Snotlouts' shoulders. "Hi." Snotlout scowled at him and threw him back.

"We're alive!" Ruffnut exclaimed, getting up."Right?" Tuffnut shoved her off."Ow!"

"Can we please just get out of here?" Astrid pleaded, not wanting the fog to come back.

"I second that." Raeda agreed.

Hiccup looked at his arms and noticed something "Wait! The chest! I- It- It's gone! I just had it."

"What?! That's impossible! You just had it!" Hicca said.

"Oh, too bad, so sad. See you back on Berk!" Tuffnut said frantically as he, Ruffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs ran outside the boat to where the dragons were.

"Meatlug! Oh I missed you, Meatlug." Fishlegs said as he hugged the Gronckle."Don't worry, Daddy's taking you home." He turned behind his shoulders. "Raeda, let me know when you make that haunted boat so that I will be sure to avoid it."

Astrid, Raeda, Hicca and Hiccup were still on the boat. "You guys go. Hicca and I have to find that chest." Hiccup insisted.

"Also cover for us." Hicca added.

"No way guys, we'restaying here to help you two find that chest." Raeda said firmly.

"You four do what you guys gotta do. See you when we see you." Snotlout said quickly.

"Hold on, you guys. That chest is from their mom." Astrid said to the four leaving teens.

Tuffnut waved it off. "Yeah. Touching story. Gotta go!"

"Put yourself in their shoes." Astrid said.

"In Hiccups' case: Shoe." Snotlout said.

"What if it was _your_ mother?"

That made the four teens stop. They were lucky enough to be able to grow up with their mothers to take care of them. But for Hicca and Hiccup, it wasn't like that. Those two didn't even know what their mom looks like. So reluctantly, the four teens got off their dragons and rejoined the other half of their team.

"I hate you." Snotlout said to Astrid. He then turned to his cousins "And _this_ does not mean we're really friends."

"It means a lot to us that you guys are helping." Hicca said gratefully.

"Yeah thank you, guys. We mean it." Hiccup agreed."Now let's go find that Fog Monster."

The teens saddled up and took to the skies looking for the Fog Monster.

Astrid found it. "There it is!"

Strangely the fog seemed to move as if it had a mind of its own as it constantly changed direction.

"Is it just me or does fog not move like this at all?" Hiccup asked, baffled by the fog.

"Yeah, I don't think that's actually a fog." Hicca said.

Then, to add more weirdness, the 'fog' suddenly split into two! "There's two of them!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"Astrid! Raeda!" Hiccup shouted.

"On it!" Both girls answered as they started chasing one part of the 'fog' while Hiccup and Hicca started chasing the other. But as persistent as they were, they soon lost any traces of the 'fog'. They quickly regrouped with the others on the ground.

"We lost it." Hiccup said as they got off their dragons.

"So did we." Astrid reported.

Then the fog came back again!

"It didn't lose us." Tuffnut gulped.

As the fog accumulated, the dragons suddenly noticed something their riders didn't.

_'_ _Do you guys see what I see?'_ Midnight said to the other dragons.

_'_ _Yep, no doubt about it. I should've guessed it from the start.'_ Sparkfire answered

_'_ _Now I wish we were dealing with an actual fog monster. These things are annoying.'_ Hookfang grumbled.

Toothless started growling at the fog. "Settle down, bud."

The other dragons started flying up. "What are they doing?" Ruffnut asked.

"They're leaving us." Tuffnut said.

"I knew Hookfang never liked me." Snotlout said dejectedly.

"Midnight, where are you guys going?" Hicca asked. But the female Night Fury simply joined the others in the air.

Hiccup noticed that none of the dragons were flying away. In fact, they were flapping their wings at the fog. "They're not going anywhere. Look!" The flapping caused the fog to clear up, revealing many small dragons!

"They're dragons!" Astrid said.

"Yeah, angry ones." Snotlout noted, looking at their expressions.

"Well, look on the bright side, Fishlegs." Hiccup commented."No Fog Monster."

"I feel so much better now." Fishlegs mumbled.

"What are those things?" Ruffnut asked.

"They're like smokey dragon-pirates without the eye-patches." Tuffnut answered.

It was Fishlegs who came up with the answer. "They're Smothering Smokebreath dragons." The other teens gave him incredulous looks."What?"

"You knew about these things?" Snotlout asked in disbelief.

"And you didn't think at one point it would be a good idea to suggest it?" Hicca asked.

"Well I've read about them, but I didn't think they actually existed." Fishlegs explained.

"Yet, thought a 'Fog Monster' existed?!" Astrid said in exasperation. They've been scared of a make-believe monster this whole time!

"Guys! Can we please talk about this later?" Hiccup asked, reminding everyone of their current situation."What else did the book say?"

Fishlegs immediately went in dragon-analysing mode. "They hide themselves in a veil of smoke, they're very territorial and, uh... I forget the third thing."

"Think you can jog up your memory?" Raeda asked.

At that moment, the Smothering Smokebreaths chose to attack. Hiccup and Hicca quickly got on Toothless and Midnight and the two Night Furies fired plasma blasts at the hostile dragons. The other dragon riders followed suit (though Tuffnut had a bit of a struggle when the Smokebreaths tried to take him) Raeda tried firing some of her arrows at the dragons, but it had no effect as there were too many of them so she got on Sparkfire, who then fired at them. Hiccup looked around and saw that they were surrounded by Smothering Smokebreaths. "There's too many of them! Let's fall back!"

"Um... Fall back where?" Tuffnut asked, pointing out the fact that they were surrounded.

"Give us a fire line!" Hiccup ordered the Thorston twins.

"Don't have to ask us twice." Tuffnut said as he and his sister got on Barf and Belch. The Zippleback immediately gave a line of fire, creating a path for the teens and dragons to escape.

Fishlegs noticed that they were not going to leave the island. In fact, they were following the Smothering Smokebreaths "What are we doing? Why are we still here?"

"Hicca and I can't leave here without that chest." Hiccup explained.

"We came here for that chest and we are not leaving empty-handed." Hicca said with determination.

"You don't even know if they have it!" Snotlout pointed out.

"We have a pretty good idea." Hiccup said as they arrived at a cave."Let's get a closer look." On a closer inspection, the teens noticed that the small dragons were carrying metal to their nests. "Fishlegs? Did you manage to remember the third thing?"

"Unfortunately yes." Fishlegs said, remembering the third thing about Smothering Smokebreaths."That third thing: The Smothering Smokebreaths build their nest out of metallic objects."

"Yeah, we kind of see that." Hicca noted.

"That doesn't sound too cozy." Tuffnut said."Or does it?"

"It's not supposed to be. They do it to defend against attacks by bigger Dragons." Fishlegs stated.

"Inspirations, inspirations. I'm having a field day here." Raeda muttered.

"I wish I could see in there." Hiccup said as they had a stakeout behind a boulder.

"Yeah, you do. He, he, he, he, he." Tuffnut said as he looked at the cave through a spy-glass.

Hiccup turned to the male Thorston and noticed the spyglass. "Where did you get that?"

"Duh. From the ship." Tuffnut answered."Or whatever that was in the tree."

"Tuff, that's stealing." Hicca chided. "You're already on Trader Johanns' bad side for leaving him wherever you guys left him."

Hiccup just snatched the spy-glass and looked through it. "They're melding them all together." He noted. He then spotted the object they were after. "The chest! It's in there!" He exclaimed before he gave the spy-glass to his sister to see."We've get to get them away from that pile of loot."

"Maybe we can lure them away." Astrid suggested.

"With what?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid didn't answer him. Instead she was looking at the Jorgenson boy, who was busy admiring his new necklace. "Shiny. Haha..." He then saw everyone staring at him."What?"

They have their bait.

After an intense argument, a reluctant Snotlout was standing on top of the boulder holding out his necklace. "Here, dragons! Got something for you. Over here. Come get it." He shouted."I'm gonna make Hiccup and Hicca eat that chest!" He muttered. The distraction worked as the Smothering Smokebreaths came after Snotlout and the necklace!

As soon as the Smokebreaths came out of their cave, Hiccup, Astrid, Hicca and Fishlegs flew in with their dragons while the rest stood guard. "Quickly, quickly! Those things will be done with Snotlout any second now." Hiccup whispered.

"Remember, this is just a get in get out mission. Nothing else needs to be done." Hicca reminded them.

Once they entered the cave, Hiccup started climbing on the nest to where the chest was. Once he got there, he grabbed it and threw it to where his sister was, who caught it easily.

They then heard Snotlouts' voice outside the cave. "Aah... Nice dragons. Aaah! Uh! Watch it! Not there! Hey!"

Fishlegs saw that the Jorgenson boy was being carried by the Smothering Smokebreaths! "Uhm guys! They're coming!"

They tried to make their escape, but were too late as the Smokebreaths had arrived and were not happy to know that their home was being invaded.

"Hiccup! Look out!" Astrid warned. The Smokebreaths started to cover the cave with fog.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. Toothless went to his rider and as soon as Hiccup got on, started flying him towards the exit.

Hicca, Astrid and Fishlegs already made it out and Hiccup was about to join them when he heard his cousins' voice behind him. "Hiccup! Don't leave me! Aah!"

"Great..." Hiccup muttered, remembering that his cousin got captured. He steered Toothless back to the nest."Plasma blast!" Toothless blasted the smaller dragons away from the Jorgenson boy, allowing Snotlout to get on the Night Fury.

"Oh, yeah!" Snotlout yelled as they flew out. But he couldn't celebrate just yet because some of the Smokebreath started following them, mainly after the necklace that Snotlout has yet to let go.

"Snotlout, would you leave the necklace?" Hiccup demanded.

"No! It's _my_ shiny!" His cousin said stubbornly.

"Well, either you let them take you or your shiny." Hiccup yelled, hoping his cousin wouldn't make a stupid decision.

Luckily, Snotlout made the right decision as he took off the necklace and threw at the Smokebreaths who caught. "Hookfang!" He called out, getting the Monstrous Nightmare towards him. He then jumped off Toothless and landed on Hookfang.

The riders started to fly out of the Island, but they noticed that the Smothering Smokebreaths were still following them.

Astrid then got an idea "Anything you have that's metal, throw it at them!"

Without any arguments, all eight dragon riders threw out any metallic objects they had and threw it at the fog-covered dragons. It worked as the fog slowly started to disappear until the last of the Smokebreaths left the teens alone.

"We did it!" Snotlout yelled pumping his fist in the air.

But none of the teens realised that they forgot one piece of metal.

Hiccups' prosthetic foot.

One of the Smokebreaths grabbed onto Hiccups' leg and yanked it out of the stirrup sending it, Hiccup and Toothless into a dangerous nosedive!

"Hiccup!" Hicca and Astrid yelled.

"WAAAAAAAHHHH!" Hiccup screamed as he struggled to get rid of the Smokebreath to get his foot back into the stirrup.

To everyones' surprise, it was Fishlegs who boldly rammed himself and Meatlug into the Smokebreath, causing the smaller dragon to let go and fly away.

"You will NOT haunt my dreams!" Fishlegs yelled to the retreating dragon. He then muttered to himself."Because I'll never sleep again..."

So with the chest now safe and secure and the threat of the Smothering Smokebreaths gone, the teens and dragons were finally able return to Berk. Once they came back, they went to Stoick to tell him what happened. Although Stoick was happy to hear that everyone is okay and the chest has been found, he was not happy when he found out what happened to Johann. He had Snotlout and the Thorston twins go back to get Trader Johann and his damaged boat.

"Alright, Alright. That's it. A little to the left!" Stoick directed the three teens as they used their dragons to carry the boat to the docks.

"We're going to have to clear the forest to fix that boat." Gobber remarked, assessing the damages on the boat.

"We're glad you're safe, Johann." Stoick said to the trader who was standing next to him."Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"Yeeeees! Just give me five minutes alone with the three who dropped me back in the ocean!" Johan said angrily, pointing to Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Clearly, he hasn't forgiven them for leaving him stranded.

Later on, at the Haddock household, Hicca, Hiccup and Stoick stood in the living room with the chest. "Go ahead, open it!" Stoick encouraged.

Hiccup and Hicca looked at each other and both of them opened the chest, revealing to small stuffed dragons, both seemed to resemble Deadly Nadders. One toy had Hiccups' name stitched on it, the other one had Hiccas'.

"I remember this." Both Hiccup and Hicca said as they each picked up their own stuffed dragon.

"Aye. You two should. Your mother made those for both of you, when you were babies." Stoick explained. He then chuckled."It scared you both half to death. Neither of you slept for a week."

The twins were surprised to hear this. "You're kidding, right?" Hicca asked.

"We were afraid of dragons?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, terrified! One day, we were out fishing and both of you threw those things into the sea."

"How did you find them?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, it showed up in a fishing net. Trader Johann got it in trade and contacted me." Stoick answered.

"That was so lucky." Hicca commented as she cradled her stuff dragon.

Hiccup looked at his toy. "We were so little when Mom... You know... we were starting to get afraid that we'd forget her. But now... I love it."

"Our memory of her is definitely going to be engraved in our minds for a long, long time." Hicca agreed

"Oh, Hiccup...Hicca... It would make your mother very, very happy to finally hear that." Stoick said smiling.

**_Most people are afraid of things because they don't understand them._ **

Both Hiccup and Hicca placed their stuffed dragons on their own beds' headboard. Hiccup then joined his sister in her room.

"Mom would have been really proud of us." Hicca said as she gave Midnight a nice, good scratch.

"Yeah she would have been. Do you she would have been open-minded about the idea of training dragons in the beginning?" Hiccup asked.

Hicca shrugged. "Probably. After all, we had to have gotten that trait from someone."

Toothless and Midnight started nudging their riders and gestured to the window, indicating that they wanted to go for a flight.

The twins exchanged a look and smiled. They both got on their dragons and flew out, ready for another crazy, exhilarating flight.

**_For me and my sister, it was dragons. Then one day, that changed and our greatest fear became our best friends._ **


	19. Gem of a Different Color

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fishlegs finds a mysterious color-changing stone, believed to be the stone of good fortune. Word spreads around Berk and everyone wants to have a stone of good fortune. But the gang soon realizes that the 'Stones of good fortune' is actually something else

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon**

**Chapter 18: Gem of a Different Colour**

**_Vikings are strong, tough, and courageous, but courage is a funny thing. Many are born with it. For some, it's a never-ending struggle, and for others, well, they just don't know enough to be afraid._ **

Today, the teens were at the Academy, but not for dragon training. This time Gobber is in charge of their training and he is teaching them hand-to-hand combat. The blacksmith believes that the teens should learn how to defend themselves if they ever get separated from their dragons.

Right now the Thorston twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, were facing off against each other, both twins armed with shields. Tuffnut charges after his sister ready to attack but Ruffnut defends herself by hitting her twin with her shield numerous times. The female Thorston emerges victorious

"As I've said a million times, and as Ruffnut has demonstrated so splendidly, the shield can be your most important weapon." Gobber explained."Now onto the next fight."

"Hold on. I didn't get a chance to hit her back." Tuffnut complained, getting up.

"You get plenty of time to hit her back afterwards." Gobber replied. He then named the next to fighters."Hiccup, Astrid."

Astrid punches her palm is excitement. Hiccup on the other hand is not that excited.

"Well, I-I don't think it's really fair for me to be fighting As-" He didn't get another word in as Astrid began to throw a few punches at Hiccup, which he manages to dodge. He was able to flip her over his shoulder but just when he looks over his shoulder with a smug grin, Astrid pins him to the ground in a painful arm lock. Snotlout silently cheered from the distance while Toothless looked at his rider worriedly.

Gobber decides to offer some advice to the struggling boy. "When you're in a situation like this, it's best to remain calm and take deep breaths." Hiccup responds by giving him a look as if to say. 'Seriously? Is that the best you've got?'

Gobber takes the hint and gives him another piece of advice "When that's not an option, I would advise playing dead."

Hiccup gives up struggling and drops his head to the ground.

"Just like that. Well done, Hiccup. Good form, Astrid." Gobber complimented.

Astrid releases her grip and got up _._

"You okay?" She asked Hiccup.

"Never been better." Hiccup said with a little strain in his voice."Shoulder should pop back into place in no time."

His twin sister, Hicca, walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulder. "Hold still, bro. One..." She pops his shoulder back into place, earning a grunt from her brother in response. "Two three."

"Thanks sis." Hiccup said, rubbing his shoulder.

"On the bright side, Hiccup, you lasted longer than the last time." Raeda commented.

"AlrightRaeda, Hicca, you two are up." Before Hicca could even come up with a response, Raeda and threw her a kick. Hicca dodged the kick by an inch. Raeda responded with a few more punches and kicks, which Hicca managed to dodge as well. Then after another kick from Raeda, Hicca ducked and, on impulse, tripped Raeda up. The Henderson girl fell to the ground.

Hicca was surprised by that. "Wow that worked! Did you guys see that?" She said turning to the others. But her moment of triumph ended when Raeda retaliated by tripping her as well.

"Great job, you two. Another point that Raeda has demonstrated her; never turn your back on your opponent, even when they seemed to be defeated. So Hicca, be careful next time."

Raeda got up and then helped Hicca up, both congratulating each other.

"Snotlout, Fishlegs, let's see what you've got." Gobber called to the final two fighters.

Snotlout was pumped. "Whoo! I think we all know what I've got!"

"A ridiculously large ego?" Hicca suggested.

"An annoying ability to brag all the time?" Raeda piped in.

"A creepy way of flirting?" Hicca offered.

"I second that one." Astrid said, agreeing with Hicca.

Snotlout ignored the girls and started chanting. "Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!"

Gobber looked around for Fishlegs. "Fishlegs don't be shy. Vikings can't rely on Dragons alone to protect them. We've all learned how to defend ourselves without dragons before." He then noticed that neither the Ingerman boy, nor his Gronckle was anywhere to be seen."Eh, thoughts on Fishlegs' whereabouts? Anyone?" He asked the other teens. They all shook their heads in response.

What no one knew was that Fishlegs and Meatlug weren't even on Berk. They where relaxing on the peaceful shores of a different island. Earlier, Fishlegs heard that Gobber was going to give a hand-to-hand combat session so he snuck away with Meatlug to avoid the class.

"What a glorious day, Meatlug." Fishlegs said as he and his Gronckle admired the sunset. He then gave Meatlug a few rocks, which the Gronckle happily ate. "You and me on our own secret island no dumb old hand-to-hand combat and more importantly; not a Snotlout for miles."

A cool breeze blew by them, causing Fishlegs to shiver. Seeing this, Meatlug gave a lava blast to the ground near Fishlegs, giving her rider a nice warm fire. Fishlegs gave his dragon an appreciative smile and decided to sing her a song as a thank-you.

_There once was a dragon named Meatlug_

_She was cuter and smarter than a sea-slug_

_When she met her pal Fish_

_It fulfilled his greatest wish_

_To love her and give her a big bear hug_

He was about to give his dragon a hug when he saw her walking away from him, to his dismay.

_'_ _I smell something.'_ The Gronckle said to herself.

"Okay, that was bad even for me." Fishlegs said, thinking she was walking away because of his singing. He got a few jabs from Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut about his singing but was it that bad? He then noticed Meatlug digging in the ground. "Really? That bad?" He asked as he walked towards her. When he reached he saw something glowing under the sand, now understanding why Meatlug was digging. "What is that?" He wondered in amazement.

At night, Fishlegs and Meatlug have yet to return and the other teens started to get concern.

"I'm starting to get a little worried about Fishlegs." Astrid said to the others. "Do you think he's okay?"

"I hope so." Hicca said.

"He looks okay to me." Ruffnut said, pointing to the sky. The others looked to see where she was pointing and were relieved to see Fishlegs and Meatlug flying towards them.

Tuffnut then noticed something strange. "Is Fishlegs glowing?" Sure enough, there was a glow on Fishlegs, or rather, on his satchel.

"Not for long." Snotlout answered, punching his palm.

"Uh, Fishlegs where were you this afternoon?" Hiccup asked as Fishlegs and Meatlug landed.

"Yeah, we were worried about you." Hicca said.

"You missed hand-to-face combat; my hand to your face." Snotlout remarked holding up his fist.

"I prefer to use the part of my body above my neck." Fishlegs commented as he got off Meatlug.

"What neck?" Snotlout sneered.

"Oh, amusing." Fishlegs said sarcastically, keeping calm. "But I refuse to encourage your violent tendencies, Snotlout."

"Don't knock it till you try it." Snotlout retorted.

"He's glowing again." Ruffnut whispered to her brother, looking at the strange glow near Fishlegs.

"I know, spooky." Tuffnut whispered back.

"Is your satchel glowing?" Raeda asked, noticing that the glow was coming from the satchel.

"It's not the satchel that's glowing." Fishlegs answered. He opened the satchel and took out the source of the glow. "It's this." He showed them the mysterious, glowing stone Meatlug found in the sand. Not only did it glow, but it also kept changing into all the different colours of the rainbow. The other teens, especially Raeda, looked at the stone in awe and fascination.

"What is it?" Hiccup asked.

"Whatever it is, I definitely want it. Did you bring another one?" Raeda asked hopeful.

"No sorry, Rae. We only found one." Fishlegs admitted.

"Never mind, a painting of this will be close enough. Everyone shut up and give me a minute." With laser focus, the Henderson girl scan the wondrous new object in Fishlegs' hand making sure to catch every detail and angle, while the other teens did their best not to distract her. There would be serious repercussions if they did. "Okay got it."

"Let's go take this to Gobber. I bet he would know what this is." Hicca suggested.

The eight teens went to the Great Hall and informed Gobber about their newest find. The blacksmith inspected the mysterious stone with the villagers gathering around, all curious to know what the multi-colour stone is.

"It's a Stone of Great Fortune." Gobber concluded. Everyone became more interested. "My great uncle's wife's brother once told me of its powers."

"I thought he was mute." Mulch said.

"He was before he found the stone. After that we couldn't shut him up." Gobber explained. He turned to the crowd and gestured to the stone in Fishlegs' hands. "This stone comes into contact with whomever is in contact with it."

"Stone of Good Fortune, huh?" Snotlout mumbled, eyeing the precious stone.

Gobbers' statement caused the crowd to surround Fishlegs, everyone trying to get the stone for their own use.

"It's pretty and it guarantees good luck. That stone is a keeper." Raeda commented.

"Yeah, but I don't think Fishlegs feels lucky holding that stone." Hicca commented, looking at the nervous and lost look on Fishlegs' face as the crowd suffocates him.

That's when the chief stepped in. "That's enough!" Stoick hollered, quieting the crowd, to Fishlegs' relief. The crowd then made way for him as he walked towards Fishlegs and the stone. "Who found it?" He asked.

"Uh, right here chief." Fishlegs answered meekly, raising his hand.

"It's a Stone of Good Fortune." Gobber supplied.

Then the crowd got started again.

"We want to rub the stone!"

"Let me have it!"

"Please, my baby, she needs good fortune." Mrs Larson said, cradling her baby.

Tuffnut looked at the baby and grimaced. "Aaah! That's a baby? I thought it was a bundle of sticks wrapped in bacon!" Mrs Larson moved her baby out of Tuffnuts' line of sight.

"Manners, Tuffnut. Ever heard of that?" Raeda chided.

"Nope." Tuffnut answered seriously.

"Never mind, Tuffnut." Stoick sighed.

"Three yaks for the stone!" One of the Vikings offered.

"Four chickens!" Another Viking countered.

"Twenty sheeps and my first-born Gustav!" Mrs. Larson offered, holding her eight year old son up.

"Me? Huh?" Gustav asked confused.

"Listen to me!" Stoick yelled, trying to stop the bidding war. "The stone belongs to Fishlegs and what he does is up to him!"

He was unsuccessful though.

"I'll give you ten yaks!"

"Four chickens!"

"Three chickens!"

"How are three chickens better than four chickens?" Raeda wondered as she listened to the bidding war. Hicca just shrugged in response.

"Maybe we should get you out of here." Hiccup suggested as he, Astrid, Hicca and Raeda escorted the overwhelmed Ingerman out of the Great Hall, away from the crowd. Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut went with them. The Jorgenson boy was surprised at Fishlegs.

"Twenty sheep _and_ Gustav Larson? You're turning that down?" Snotlout asked incredulously. "Come on, what do you want for it?"

"You can't have it, Snotlout. Not for any price." Fishlegs said, keeping the stone away from the greedy boy.

"Oh, you think so? I'm afraid you seem to forget; when Snotlout wants something he takes it." Snotlout said with a grabbing motion.

"How badly do you want it Snotlout?" Astrid asked stepping in between the two boys facing Snotlout.

"Yeah Snot, how badly?" Raeda asked, joining Astrid. Both girls gave threatening glares to Snotlout, daring him to step forward and challenge them.

Luckily, Snotlout was smart and decided to back off. "You're both lucky I don't hit girls." He scoffed.

"Yeah, so are you." Astrid retorted.

"We're watching you." Raeda said, giving him the 'I'm-watching-you' gesture.

They walked away from Snotlout, but the boy doesn't seem to break his resolve to get the stone. "Okay take it, it is." He said with determination.

Fishlegs then decided that the pressure of having the stone was not worth keeping it so accompanied by Hiccup, Hicca, Raeda and Astrid and their dragons, he flew on Meatlug back to the island where he got it from.

"You sure you want to do this, Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, think of all the luck you can get with that stone, all the miracles that could happen." Hicca added.

"There's too much stress. You guys saw that mob. They ran right over me." Fishlegs said.

"Yeah, like a sack of flour." Astrid agreed.

"I was surprised no one tackled you to get that stone." Raeda said.

"I just want to put this thing back where I found it and never think about it again." Fishlegs said firmly, looking at the stone in his satchel. "Stone of Good Fortune, yeah right. Didn't really bring me good fortune." Suddenly, Meatlug dived downwards. "Whoa, girl. Where are you going?"

Then Toothless, Midnight, Sparkfire and Stormfly followed, much to their riders' confusion. They then reached the island and Toothless gave out a roar, indicating something was wrong.

"They sense something." Hiccup concluded. He saw the trees in the forest and noticed something. "Hey, I thought you said you found it in the sand." He said to Fishlegs, referring to the stone.

"I did." Fishlegs replied.

"Are you sure?" Raeda asked, noticing the same thing Hiccup saw.

"Then what's that?" Hiccup asked, pointing to the trees.

Fishlegs, Astrid and Hicca looked to where Hiccup was pointing and saw many trees in the forest with what looked like dragons' nest. And in every single nest was the same odd, colour changing stone that Fishlegs and Meatlug found.

"Are those..." Astrid asked, eyes widening.

"Dragons' nests." Fishlegs answered as they flew by.

"Okay but why would a dragon fill its' nest with gems." Astrid asked.

"They don't, they fill their nest with eggs." Hicca answered, coming to a realisation.

Hiccup had the same realisation. "These are not gems."

"They're dragon eggs." Fishlegs said, face filled with horror. "How did I miss that? The egg I dug up must have fallen and gotten buried." He took the egg out of his satchel and looked at it with a guilty expression. "I can't believe I almost kept this baby away from its mother."

"But you didn't." Hiccup reminded him.

"Yep, now you're going to fix your mistake and put the egg back where it belongs." Hicca said.

"And better to do it sooner before we have to deal with an angry, over-protective mother dragon _again_." Raeda said reminding everyone of a certain Typhoomerang they once had.

Everyone agreed with her and flew around the trees until they found an empty nest, presumably where the lost egg is from. Fishlegs flew close to the nest and put the egg in front of it.

Toothless and Midnight must have sensed a threat as they gave out warning snarls. Hiccup and Hicca had a pretty good idea what the threat was.

"The mother must be close." Hiccup said.

The spines on Stormfly and Sparkfires' tail shot up as the two Nadders surveyed the area. "Yeah, really close." Astrid agreed.

"And must not be happy with our presence." Raeda said.

"I don't think she's happy with us taking her baby in the first place." Hicca said.

"Fishlegs, say goodbye and let's go!" Astrid urged.

"Okay, okay." Fishlegs said. He gently placed the egg back in its nest. "Goodbye little colour changing dragon."

"Can't you say that while we're flying away?" Hicca asked exasperated.

"Wait, colour changing dragons?" Raeda asked as she remembered something. "Oh no, guys I think I know which type of dragon we're dealing with here and if I'm right we need to get out of here! Now! I'll tell you guys when we get back." She said, before anyone could question her.

They were flying out of the forest when Hiccup heard something and looked behind him. He was surprised to see several trees suddenly uprooted!

"They're following us." Hiccup said, knowing that someone or something was after them.

"Yes, but what are they?" Astrid asked.

"I don't see anything back there." Fishlegs said.

"Me neither." Hicca said.

"They're dragons and they're exactly the kind I think they are." Raeda informed them. "We need to get out of here as fast as we can. Keep your eyes sharp and dodge anything that is thrown at you." The dragons started speeding up, finding their way out

Hiccup turned behind him to get a look at the dragons, trying to see if he could identify them, when he saw a dragons' mouth spit out some kind of green substance at him. Taking Raedas' instructions, he swerved Toothless out of the way. The green substance then hit a nearby tree and started to sear and burn its way through the tree, causing it to topple.

"It's shooting some kind of acid at us." Hiccup warned the others.

"All the dragons we could be facing, we have to face this one." Raeda muttered.

"Invisible, acid shooting dragons?! Great!" Fishlegs exclaimed sarcastically.

The dragons continued to manoeuvre through the trees, avoiding the invisible force and dodging the acid it was shooting at them.

"We need to get out of these trees!" Hiccup shouted.

"Hurry up!" Hicca yelled.

After a few sharp turns, the five riders and dragons finally managed to fly away from the island. They flew back home, all relieved that the fiasco was finally over.

Little did they know that it was far from over.

Because they were followed by a certain Monstrous Nightmare and his greedy, determined rider.

"Like I said; when I want it, I take it. Heh, suckers." Snotlout said as guided Hookfang to the island where the five teens went to.

The next morning, Hiccup, Hicca, Astrid and Fishlegs went to Raeda, wanting to know what those dragons were. They went to the Great Hall where Raeda got out the Book of Dragons an opened it to an incomplete chapter. "Changewings." Raeda explained. "They are like chameleons, they can blend into any type of background. Their different from other dragons because they only shoot acid as you guys saw last night."

"Where are the pictures?" Fishlegs asked, looking at the almost empty chapter.

"There aren't any." Raeda answered. "Changewings can turn invisible all the time. No one has ever spotted one either up close or from a distance. It would make sense that the eggs would be colour-changing."

Being reminded about the eggs caused Fishlegs to panic as he remembered what he did. "Those didn't look like dragon eggs, right? If I had seen that, you know I wouldn't have gone and stolen..." He started to hyperventilate.

"Fishlegs, calm down." Hiccup told him. "None of us knew."

"But I should." Fishlegs stated. "I should have known."

"Not even Gobber knew it was a dragon egg. He was the one who said it was a Stone of Good Fortune." Raeda pointed out.

"And you fixed your mistake and returned. It's not like you didn't." Hicca said.

"All I know is that it's a good thing we brought that egg back to its mother." Hiccup said. "Who knows what she would have done if that egg was still back on Berk."

"Hiccups' right, it would have been a complete disaster for Berk to have an invisible, acid-shooting dragon lurking around. So that's one crisis averted." Hicca said.

The Thorston twins then came to the Great Hall and Tuffnut was holding a very, very familiar egg in his hand.

"Or maybe not." Raeda said, her eyes widening.

"Uh, what is that?" Hiccup asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Uh, I don't know maybe a lifetime of good luck." Tuffnut answered, showing off the egg. He and his sister slammed their heads into each other and Ruffnut fell to the ground. Tuffnut did a victory dance, thinking that the 'stone' kept him from falling.

"I'll take that." Astrid said, trying to grab the stone from the male Thorston.

Tuffnut dodged her. "Over my cold, dead body." He said before he and Ruffnut ran out.

"He's going to end up like that if the mother Changewing finds him with her egg." Raeda said worriedly.

"Where did you get that?" Astrid called to the blonde twins.

"We traded it." Ruffnut answered.

"With who?" Astrid asked, but Ruffnut and Tuffnut were already gone.

"I'll give you three hints; he's boastful, he's idiotic and he would do anything to get rich." Hicca said knowing exactly who could've given the Thorston twins that egg.

Her suspicions were confirmed when the five of them went outside to see non-other than Snotlout Jorgenson holding an auction for the so-call lucky 'stones'.

"Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, settle down everyone!" Snotlout yelled to the crowd. "I've got six yaks and three chickens from the woman with a hook arm. Do I hear seven and four?"

"Do I hear seven and four?" Gustav repeated as he held one of the 'stones'.

"Seven and four, Gustav, from the guy with a bucket on his head." Snotlout said, pointing to Bucket who had his arm raised with a barrel full of battle-axes. "And he's throwing a matching set of battle axes. How cool?"

"Cool." Gustav answered.

"Seven and four, plus the axes. Come on, folks, only one left. Good luck for the rest of your life." Snotlout said to the crowd. It seemed that no one had anything higher to bid. "Going once, twice...and sold! Gustav, give Bucket his Stone of Fortune." Gustav did what he was told and Snotlout turned to face the crowd. "Well that's it, folks. I only had three stones and I'm all sold out, so it's time for me to pack up." The crowd was disappointed, but made no move to leave, causing Snotlout to frown. "Hello? Go away! It's over!" He yelled, making everyone scurry away.

The five teens then decided to confront Snotlout.

"Snotlout, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing, I'm getting rich." Snotlout answered with a smug expression.

"But you can't." Fishlegs said.

"I already did, the gems are all gone." Snotlout replied.

"Gone." Gustav repeated.

"Seriously Snotlout, brainwashing a little kid?" Raeda said, crossing her arms.

Hiccup decided to focus on the eggs. "They are not gems."

"And they do not give good luck _at all_." Hicca said.

"Puh-lease." Snotlout scoffed as he took the cart filled with all the valuables he got from his auction. "They're giving me good luck. I'm up to my neck with weapons and livestock."

"Snotlout, those are dragon eggs." Astrid stated.

"Changewings to be exact." Fishlegs informed him.

"Changewing, shmangewing. I don't care what they are. All I know is that I'm rich and you're not." Snotlout said with a smirk.

"We're rich and you're not." Gustav repeated.

"Seriously, Snotlout? These are baby dragons we are talking about." Hicca remarked.

"Snotlout, you have to listen to us, we need to get those eggs off Berk before something bad really happens." Hiccup said, trying to get his cousin to understand.

"Like being invaded by angry mother dragons." Raeda stated.

"You do not want to separate a dragon mother from her egg. Especially one that you can't see that shoots burning acid." Fishlegs added.

"Really? You did."Snotlout retorted.

"That was- that was an accident." Fishlegs stuttered as the guilt came back to him.

"Accident, on purpose, rich, poor, who cares? They're gone and I have a no-return policy. Tell them, Gustav." Snotlout said, as he walked away with the wheel-barrow.

"No return." Gustav said, before he joined Snotlout.

"If you want them, you'll have to take it up with my customers." Snotlout said.

"Unbelievable, he is going to put the entire village in danger and it doesn't bother him." Hicca said as she watched her cousin walk away.

"Alright, time for plan B; beat the daylights out of Snotlout." Raeda said. She was about to go after Snotlout to carry out her plan when Hicca and Hiccup restrained her, though Astrid thought it was a good idea.

"Oh, it's all my fault." Fishlegs said sadly.

"It's not your fault Fishlegs." Hiccup reassured.

"Yes it is." Fishlegs stated. "If I hadn't gone to that island and brought the egg back, then Snotlout wouldn't have known where to get them and we wouldn't be in danger of an imminent attack from angry mother Changewings."

"When you put it that way, it really is his fault." Astrid commented. Hiccup, Hicca and Raeda shot her looks. "I'm just saying."

"No, it is not his fault. He can't responsible for Snotlout actions." Hicca defended.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is." Hiccup stated. "We just have to find those eggs."

"Let's start with the Thorston twins, before they do something dangerous." Raeda said. She then paused for a moment before saying. "Actually, we may be a bit too late for that."

"One way to find out." Hicca said. "Dragons everybody!"

The five teens immediately when to their dragons and flew off to look for Ruffnut and Tuffnut, hoping those two haven't done anything to destroy the egg.

The Thorston twins were at a cliff above a pit filled with Fireworm dragons.

Tuffnut was holding the 'stone'. "Okay, when I count to three shove me really hard into that pit." He instructed his sister.

"Uh, are you sure? You remember what those things did to you?" Ruffnut asked, referring to the incident in the cave during the quest of Hamish II.

"Oh, please." Tuffnut said nonchalantly. "I'm holding the Stone of Great Fortune. Their fire will feel like a tickle."

"Well, if you insist." Ruffnut said shrugging. She then smiled. "Thank you, Thor." She shoved Tuffnut into the pit with full force. Tuffnut fell screaming into the pit, but just when he was seconds away from touching one of the tiny, fiery dragons, a Deadly Nadder swooped in and flew him back to the cliff. But it wasn't an ordinary Nadder, it was Stormfly!

Tuffnut looked up at Stormfly and Astrid. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Saving your skin, literally." Astrid answered as Stormfly dropped them back to the cliff. The other dragon riders, minus Snotlout, joined them with their dragons.

"Guys, that's not a good-luck stone, it's a dragon egg and its mother is a dangerous dragon that blends in with just about anything and spits out hot, burning acid which destroys whatever is in its path." Hiccup explained, hoping they would understand.

"Which, for anyone who has their eggs, is really bad." Hicca added.

The Thorston twins looked at each other and then to the Haddock twins. "So if, a tree for example, was spitting acid and melting everything in sight-" Tuffnut started to say.

"You're saying that would be one of those dragons." Ruffnut finished.

The other five teens were impressed. It usually took the blonde twins a much longer time to understand the danger.

"Wow, they got it on the first try." Astrid commented.

"I know, that's a new record for them." Raeda said.

"We're not stupid." Ruffnut retorted.

"At least I'm not. Besides, there's one right there." Tuffnut said, pointing to one of the trees.

Suddenly, two trees fell over. Toothless, Midnight, Stormfly, Sparkfire, Meatlug, Barf and Belch all started growling, sensing the threat near their riders. Then for the first time, the teens were able to get a look at a Changewing as it suddenly appeared in front of them! The Changewing had red scales, two horns on its head and spines on its back. The Changewing was eyeing the egg in Tuffnuts' hand.

"Whoa, a Changewing." Astrid said in awe.

"Finally get to add a picture in the Book of Dragons." Raeda commented.

"Yay." Hicca muttered, not feeling victorious with the presence of the angry, acid-spitting dragon in front of them.

The Changewing then moved to a nearby boulder and disappeared.

"It's amazing, it really blends in." Hiccup said amazed.

"Yeah, bro, focus on _that_ right now." Hicca said sarcastically, bringing his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Hiccup, quick! Train it so we can keep it and have it spit acid at Ruffnut." Tuffnut said, excitedly.

Ruffnut did not take kindly to that and shoved her brother to the ground. She then ducked as the Changewing shot acid at her, causing the acid to hit and dissolve a boulder right behind her. The Changewing continued to shoot acid at the other teens and dragons. Everyone ducked and dodged to avoid getting hit by the acid.

Then two more Changewings appeared, zeroing on Tuffnut who was still holding the egg.

Tuffnut was so busy looking at the Changewing in front of him that he didn't noticed the other two Changewings appear. "Nice try, but as you can see, I am holding the Stone of-" He didn't get to finish that sentence because one of the other Changewings suddenly grabbed him and shook him vigorously! Tuffnut let go of the egg, which another Changewing caught and the three Changewings flew away.

"Did you see that?" Hiccup asked the others.

"I sure did." Hicca answered, knowing what her brother was referring to.

"At least they're gone." Ruffnut commented.

"Uh, they are not gone." Hiccup said, starting to worry.

"How do you know?" Astrid asked.

"Because the Changewings worked as a team to save that one egg." Fishlegs pointed out, starting to see what Hiccup was thinking.

"And Snotlout took more than one egg from that island." Hicca stated.

"Wait, are you guys saying what I think you're saying?" Astrid asked, hoping they would say no.

"Please tell me you're not saying that." Raeda pleaded.

"Oh, _that's_ what they are saying." Tuffnut suddenly said. He then looked confused. "Wait, what are you guys saying?"

"None of the Changewings are going to leave until all the eggs are safe." Fishlegs started.

"And there are still two more eggs yet to be returned to them." Hicca continued.

"And they are going to tear apart Berk until they find every last one of them." Hiccup finished.

The teens then went to the Haddock household to tell Stoick about the situation.

"So what you're telling me is that our village is about to be under siege by wild dragons we can't see." Stoick concluded once he heard the whole story.

"Yep, pretty much." Hicca said. "Never really a quiet day around Berk nowadays."

"Oh, don't forget the hot, burning acid." Tuffnut piped in. The other teens just stared at him. "What? It was awesome!"

"Well grab your dragons then. We'll fight them off." Stoick decided.

"Dad, I wish it was that easy. No matter what we do, they won't go away until they get what they want." Hiccup explained.

"They just want their babies." Fishlegs said.

"They're mother dragons. It's their instinct." Hicca added.

Fishlegs then sat down, resting his head on his hand. "It's all my fault."

"Yeah it is. You pretty much started this whole thing." Everyone looked at Raeda, shocked that she would say that so bluntly. "What, he messed up. Like none of us have ever done that before? What's done is done, Fishlegs, you can't change it. Now you can either do one of two things; you can just sit there go on and on moping about your mistake _or_ you can try to fix your mistake." Fishlegs took in what Raeda said and nodded to her, face filled with determination. Raeda smiled and turned to others. "A little tough love can get through to people."

Gobber then came running into the house. "Stoick, I just realised something. I made a mistake. It's not a Stone of Good Fortune, it's a Changewing egg. I always get those two confused." He then looked at the other teens, who were just staring at him. "So, what are you all up to?"

Hicca fought the urge to face-palm. "Oh nothing, really. But thank you for the warning, at least nothing bad can happen now." She said sarcastically.

"He's also to be blamed here." Raeda said.

"Hiccup, Hicca, what do you two suggest we do?" Stoick asked.

"Hicca and I think we should get everyone off the island until we can return the eggs back to their mother and the Changewings are gone." Hiccup answered. Hicca nodded in agreement.

Stoick didn't agree to that plan. "In all my years as chief, we never turned in fear of anything. I'm not about to start now."

"Well, ever been invaded by angry, invisible, acid-shooting dragons in all your years?" Hicca reasoned.

Before Stoick could respond to that, they heard a scream from outside. Everyone ran outside to see that the three Changewings were back! And each one of them was shooting acid everywhere, determined to get their eggs back.

"They're looking for their eggs." Hiccup said.

"And none of them are leaving until they get them." Hicca said.

One of the Changewings shot acid at a house, causing the Viking that was inside to run away.

Stoick picked up a log nearby and charged after the Changewing. But the dragon saw the chief coming and quickly blended into a nearby rock.

"Where'd it go?" Stoick asked, unable to find a trace of the dragon that was once there.

"That would be the 'blending in, can't see it at all' part." Hiccup answered.

"I see it!" Tuffnut exclaimed, surprising everyone. "Hey, I've got this chief." He walked to the rock with his hand out in front of him. "Stay, dragon. I am now you're master." He ordered. He placed his hand on the rock, thinking he tame the Changewing, and gave Stoick a thumbs-up.

But Stoick and the Haddock twins knew better. "It's gone, isn't it?" Stoick asked, although he knew the answer.

"Definitely gone." Hicca nodded.

"Long gone." Hiccup added.

Another scream made them look and see another Changewing attacking the Plaza. Stoick turned to his children. "You two and the others find those eggs, we'll handle the Changewings." He said.

His children nodded and turned to the other teens. "Come on." Hiccup and Hicca said. The teens got on their dragons and flew off to search for the eggs.

After they left, one Viking ran to Stoick and Gobber. "They're everywhere and nowhere!" He yelled panicking. "You have to do something, Stoick."

Stoick and Gobber saw a Changewing disappear into one of the houses. Both men took large logs and charged at the house. They slammed the logs at the house where the Changewing was and hit it at every angle they could find. When they were done, they put away the logs and the beaten up house collapsed. But to the dismay of both men, the Changewing emerged from the destroyed house, completely unscathed. The Changewing roared and flew off, continuing its search for the eggs.

"Hiccup and Hicca are right; it's hard to fight what you can't see Stoick." Gobber pointed out.

The chief assessed the situation and realised that he was only left with one option. "To the docks! Everyone aboard the ships! We're evacuating the island!" Stoick yelled to everyone running nearby so that they could spread the word.

Hicca and Astrid flew to the village to search for Bucket, one of the buyers of the egg. They found the bucket-headed man walking around the village like it was a normal day with the egg in his hand.

The farmer/fisherman then heard a scream, finally alerting him of the presence of the Changewings. One of the Changewings saw Bucket and eyed the egg in his hand. The enraged dragon started chasing after him.

"Somebody help me!" Bucket screamed as he ran away from the Changewing.

Astrid, Stormfly, Hicca and Midnight flew towards him. "Your egg, Bucket! She wants your egg!"

"What egg?" Bucket asked, still unaware that he was holding a dragons' egg and not a stone.

"The one that you think is a Stone of Good Fortune!" Hicca yelled.

The Changewing then shot acid at him. Luckily Bucket managed to avoid it by ducking under a nearby cart. Thinking he lost the Changewing, Bucket emerged out of the cart but was then face-to-face with the same Changewing and the dragon did not look happy at all! The Changewing knocked the egg out of Buckets' hands, allowing a nearby Changewing to take it. Both of the Changewings then took off to search for the other egg.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Larson came out of the Great Hall with a carriage that had both her baby and the egg. Fishlegs and Meatlug flew to her.

"I need your stone, Mrs. Larson." Fishlegs said.

"But my boy, Gustav, Snotlout said no returns." Mrs. Larson said.

"We'll get Gustav back." Fishlegs promised. "Where is it?"

Meatlug then gave a growl, alerting the two Vikings that a Changewing was nearby. The Changewing suddenly appeared near Mrs. Larson, causing the woman to step back in shock. Mrs. Larson accidently nudged her carriage, causing it to roll down the steps with the baby and the Changewing egg still in it!

"Ah! My baby!" Mrs. Larson yelled, terrified.

"We got her, we got her!" Fishlegs said as he guided Meatlug to the falling carriage. The Changewing also flew towards the carriage to retrieve its egg. There were two more Changewings flying towards them, but Hiccup, Toothless, Raeda and Sparkfire kept them at bay.

The carriage reached the end of the steps and both the baby and the egg were flung out!

Fishlegs and Meatlug flew to catch the baby and the Changewing flew to catch its egg. Luckily, all three of them caught what they went after and the Changewing flew away, while Fishlegs cradled the baby.

Fishlegs smiled at the baby. "Aww, Meatlug, look at the baby." He showed Meatlug the baby and the Gronckle threw up some lava. Fishlegs then got a closer look at the baby and shuddered. "Baby? Wow...ugh, maybe Tuffnut was right." He and Meatlug then flew to Mrs. Larson to return her baby.

Meanwhile, Stoick and Gobber were at the docks trying to ease up the panicking villagers.

"Calm down or else-!" Gobber shouted before he was shoved by a Viking running by. "-I'll take you by the scruff of your necks and force you to calm down!"

"Not helping Gobber." Stoick said, before turning to address the villagers. "There's no reason to panic people!"

Hicca, Hiccup and the other teens minus Snotlout, flew towards the two men. "Invasion has been averted, dad." Hicca announced.

"You can stop the evacuation. We got them all!" Hiccup said. "The Changewings are gone."

"Then how do you explain _that_?" Gobber asked, pointing to the sky. The seven teens looked up and saw, not three, but _four_ Changewings still on Berk.

"There are four of them." Hiccup said.

"But they were only three eggs." Fishlegs pointed out.

"They're going after the ships." Astrid noticed.

Gobber was confused by this. "What do they want with-"

Fishlegs saw the ships and noticed that Snotlout and Gustav were on one of the ships. A realisation then came to him. "It's not the ship it's what's on it." He said, narrowing his eyes. "Another egg." He became enraged. There they were getting attacked by angry mother dragons all because of Snotlouts' greedy needs. And what is the Jorgenson boy doing about it? He watching and enjoying it like a spectacle! And what's worse is that he is knowingly keeping a mother away from her baby. Someone needed to put that guy in his place, and that someone is Fishlegs.

"Can you guys keep the Changewings at bay?" Fishlegs asked the others.

"What are you going to do?" Hiccup asked.

"Something I should have done a long time ago." Fishlegs said with determination.

"Well, do it fast. I'm not sure how long we'll be able to hold them off." Hicca said.

Hiccup turned to the chief. "Dad." He said.

Stoick understood and got on Thornado. He then had the Thunderdrum give out a sonic roar to the Changewings, getting their attentions. Then Stoick and the other teens flew off to distract the Changewings.

On one of the ships, Snotlout and Gustav were watching the scene above until Fishlegs and Meatlug boarded the ship. "Going somewhere, Snotlout?" Fishlegs asked in a serious tone.

Snotlout and Gustav turned to Fishlegs. "Who's asking?" Snotlout retorted, not noticing the seriousness in Fishlegs' tone.

"Yeah, who's asking?" Gustav repeated.

Fishlegs didn't even hesitate for a second. "Go find your mother, Gustav." He ordered.

Gustav was starting to see a new side of Fishlegs and was a bit frightened by it. The ten-year-old boy did what he was told, much to Snotlouts' dismay.

"I can't believe you! I was really starting to like that kid." Snotlout complained.

"Give it to me." Fishlegs demanded holding out his hand.

"Finally." Snotlout said, punching his palm. He was ready for a fight.

"You know what I mean, Snotlout." Fishlegs said.

"None of your business! Oh, what are you going to do, Fishlegs?" Snotlout mocked.

That was the final straw for Fishlegs as the blonde boy let his rage take over. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Having lost every trace of calm in him, Fishlegs madly threw aside all the new acquired valuables from the auction and searched for the egg in rage. Snotlout stepped back from the scene in shock. He has never _ever_ seen Fishlegs like this before. "Now you listen!" Fishlegs demanded. "You can do whatever you want to me. You can threaten me, make fun of me, mock my incredible dragon knowledge, but what you will _not_ do is stand between a baby dragon and its mother! Do you understand, Snotlout?!"

Snotlout only nodded in fear. And he thought Raeda and Astrid were scary.

Bucket and Mulch were also on the ship watching the scene. "It's always the quiet ones that snap the loudest." Bucket commented.

Mulch agreed with his friend. "I'd give it to him, Snotlout. There's no telling what he's capable of." He advised.

Fishlegs then noticed Meatlug sniffing around the ship, searching for the egg. "That's it. Find it, girl." He encouraged. The Gronckle then found the egg in an upturned basket. "Hmm, what do you know? There it is. I think I'll just take that." Fishlegs said calmly as he went to pick up the egg. He then turned to glare at Snotlout. "Any objections?" He challenged. Snotlout was still too frightened to speak. "Didn't think so." He then got on Meatlug. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with destiny." They flew off, leaving Snotlout to register what just happened.

Fishlegs walked around the deserted village, looking for the Changewings. 'This is it.' He thought. 'Just me by myself about to face four angry mother Changewing dragons who can shoot burning hot acid. That's not so bad.' He gulped and held the egg up. "Okay Changewings, I know you're out there! Come and get me!" He yelled.

For a moment, there was silence until Fishlegs heard a roar, but nothing appeared. He just knew that he wasn't alone but still couldn't see anything. It wasn't until he backed up to one of the houses when he saw a familiar drop of green acid drip to the ground near him. With the hairs on the back of his neck standing, Fishlegs slowly looked up and saw one of the Changewings right above him! Then the three other Changewings appeared in front of him and surrounded him!

_'_ _He's holding the egg!'_ One of the three Changewings in front said

_'_ _Boy, you better hand over my egg if you want to live!'_ The Changewing above him threatened.

"And we're all here." Fishlegs said nervously. "Hi, I'm Fishlegs. I've read a lot about you, clearly not enough." The Changewing in front of him roared in his face. Though completely frightened, Fishlegs continued talking. "Okay, here's how it's going to work. I'm going to give you this egg and you're going to take it and you're going to leave Berk in peace. I promise you, if you don't burn me with acid, I will spend the rest of my life making sure no one else steals your egg, ever. Sound good?"

The Changewing in front of him looked at him and snorted smoke out of her nostrils. _'Sure as long as you hand over the egg. We don't really care about killing you humans.'_

Fishlegs closed his eyes and held the egg out for the dragon to take. The Changewing took the egg and then roared in his face, causing Fishlegs to cover his ears and eyes. After that nothing happened. Fishlegs opened his eyes and saw that all four Changewings were gone. The Ingerman boy breathed out a sigh of relief and took a few steps...only to pass out on the ground.

The next day, the teens were at the Academy for another hand-to-hand combat session from Gobber. Having finally seen what the Changewing looks like, Raeda was drawing its appearance in the Book of Dragons with Hiccup, Hicca and Fishlegs looking and giving their input.

"I'm telling you; up close, face to face it was much more ferocious." Fishlegs said. The three teens looked at him. "I'm just saying, one of us was there and three of us weren't." Raeda then erased the face of the drawing and made it more ferocious as Fishlegs said. "That's it, now do the teeth and the hot, dripping acid." Fishlegs said. Raeda followed accordingly. "Perfect."

"Looks just like it." Hicca commented.

Hiccup turned to Fishlegs. "You know Fishlegs-"

But Fishlegs knew what Hiccup was going to say. "I do, Hiccup. We need to find one so we can study it."

"No, so we can train it." Hiccup said.

"Snotlout, Fishlegs, you're up." Gobber called to them.

"Now if you excuse me, there's something I've been meaning to do." Fishlegs said as he went to the centre of the Arena.

"Take him down, Fishlegs." Hicca cheered.

"Don't hold back." Raeda yelled.

**_Having courage isn't the same as having no fear_ **

The two boys circled each other, preparing themselves for the fight.

**_It's being afraid and pushing forward anyway. Whether it's rescuing a baby dragon, protecting those you love or giving that special someone the butt-kicking they so richly deserve._ **

The boys then charged after each other and fought.


	20. We Are Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having found some new notes, the Dragon Trainers set off to search for other Night Furies

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragon.**

**Chapter 20: We Are Family**

**_Vikings have a strong sense of community. It's important for us to be part of a family and to celebrate that connection_ **

The villagers of Berk, both humans and dragons, busied themselves to prepare for a very special week, known as Bork Week. This week celebrates the life and achievements of Bork the Bold, the first Viking to have ever recorded information about dragons.

Gobber was finished hammering the final touches on the statue of Bork the Bold. "Happy Bork Week, Magnus!" Gobber yelled to a Viking passing by with a sack of flour.

"And a good Bork Week to you, Seamus!" He yelled to another Viking passing by.

Seamus smiled in return. "Cheers!"

The blonde blacksmith was particularly fond of Bork Week because Bork was his ancestor. "Most importantly, a great Bork week to you great, great grandpa Bork." Gobber said, looking up to the statue.

Mulch and Bucket joined Gobber in admiring the statue. "Best week of the year, eh Gobber?" Mulch commented with a smile.

"Right up there with Stump Day." Gobber agreed as he and Mulch clanked their prosthetics together.

"Ah, the good old days brings tears to my eyes." Mildew said, coming up to the three men with his sheep, Fungus. "We could use a man like Bork around here."

"Tradition's a fine thing, Mildew, but things have changed for the better if you ask me." Gobber defended calmly.

"I didn't." Mildew retorted. Fungus gave out a baa.

Gobber tried not to look irritated. Keyword: try. "We have come a long way from the time when it was us or the dragons. You might be a little less crusty if you got used to that." Gobber offered even though he knew what the response would be.

And he was right. "I'll pass thanks." Mildew said. Fungus gave out another baa. "When are Borks' archives going to be on display? You still got that dragon gutting dagger, don't you?"

"They'll all be in the Great Hall, don't worry." Gobber said.

At the Cove, the teens and dragons were practicing a new exercise.

Hicca and Hiccup stepped up and gave identical dragon-like roars.

Snotlout did not look impressed. " _That's_ why you two called us? To scream in the wind?" He complained.

"Just wait for a minute, Snotlout." Fishlegs said.

"Yeah these dragon calls will be pretty beneficial to us." Hicca said.

"Dragon calls, whatever." Snotlout scoffed. He took out one of the Thawfest medals he was wearing and looked at it. Looking at both Ruffnut and Tuffnut, he smirked and shined a light on his medal, creating a spotlight near the Thorston twins. The blonde twins became captivated by the light and focused on it movements as Snotlout moved the medal back and forth.

"Uh, guys?" Hiccup called to Ruffnut and Tuffnut. He then noticed his cousins' antics.

"Muttonheads." Snotlout snickered.

"Snotlout." Hiccup warned.

Snotlout ignored him. "So stupid."

"Seriously?" Hiccup asked, glaring at his cousin, but the Jorgenson boy continued to ignore him.

"Let me handle this, bro." Hicca said to her twin. She then walked up to Snotlout and without saying anything, stomped on his foot! Snotlout gave out a yelp and started hopping on his other foot while clutching on to his hurt foot.

"Why?! Why would you do that?" Snotlout demanded, still hopping.

"Yeah, sis, I'm wondering the same thing." Hiccup said. Even he didn't see that coming.

"Well, Astrid does tell us that action is a more effective way of getting a point across. So I'm just testing out that theory, and it worked." Hicca explained.

"Told you so." Astrid said, enjoying the scene.

Oblivious to what was going on, Tuffnut and Ruffnut noticed that the spotlight disappeared and shook their heads. "Uh, gone again. Every single time." Tuffnut grumbled.

Hiccup and Hicca looked at each other, mentally debating to each other on whether they should tell the Thorston twins on Snotlouts' deception, but they decided against it. Instead they both continued to howl.

Recovering from the foot stomping, Snotlout rolled his eyes. "And nothing. I'm bored again, can we go now?"

"Do you want to get your other foot crushed, Snot?" Raeda asked, clearly adopting Hiccas' theory.

Snotlout backed away from the Henderson girls and the gang then heard two identical roars.

"You were saying, Snotlout?" Astrid asked with a smirk, crossing her arms.

On that cue, Toothless and Midnight flew in and went straight to their respective riders.

"Fine." Snotlout said sighing. "Gold stars for both Hiccup and Hicca, it was pretty cool." It is not easy for the proud Jorgenson boy to admit that one of his cousins upstaged him, let alone both of his cousins.

"Not as cool as that disappearing, shiny thing." Tuffnut commented while his sister nodded in agreement. "You can never catch it. It's like a sneaky Terrible Terror that runs around the village with your stolen chicken leg."

"Alright, moving on." Hiccup said, not even wanting to ask Tuffnut about his comment. "Fishlegs, do you want to give it a go?"

"Thought you would never ask." Fishlegs replied, stepping up to the platform. "The call of the Gronckle is as unique as the dragon itself; raw, guttural, intense yet with a subtle lilt."

"Doesn't beat the call of the Deadly Nadder, though." Raeda commented.

"No it does not." Astrid agreed, giving Raeda a high-five.

"Just get on with!" Snotlout said impatiently, before Fishlegs could get into a debate with the two girls on dragon calls.

Without another word, Fishlegs cupped his hands and gave out his dragon roar. A few minutes later, Meatlug flew up.

"This is working perfectly." Hicca said excitedly. "Think of all the things we can use this for. Good job, Fishlegs."

But Fishlegs put a hand gesture as if to say 'wait'. "I'm not done yet, check this out." Taking a deep breath, the Ingerman boy gave out a much deeper growl.

"Ugh gross, I do _not_ want to know which part of the body _that_ came from." Tuffnut said with a disgusted expression. His face then changed to a more thoughtful one. "Or wait, maybe I do..."

"Well I don't, so let's just keep it that way." Raeda said firmly.

After giving out the growl, Fishlegs started panting. "I gotta sit down for a minute." A few minutes later, five different Gronckles came.

"Whoa, nice herd." Tuffnut said, as Meatlug flew away with the other Gronckles.

"Be back by dinner. You're having granite and your friends are invited." Fishlegs shouted to Meatlug. 'Bye!' Meatlug roared to her rider. Fishlegs turned to the others on the ground. "That's her favourite."

"Okay, who's next?" Hiccup asked.

Raeda and Astrid both volunteered immediately.

"Astrid, Raeda, since you guys both have the same dragon call, come on up." Hicca said.

The two girls stepped up.

"Mine call is going to be louder and clearer than yours." Astrid muttered to Raeda.

"We'll see about that, Hofferson." Raeda said, both girls in competition mode.

They both cupped their hands and gave out their identical dragon roars. Not long after, Sparkfire and Stormfly soared high in the sky, joined by a flock of Nadders.

"Great job as usual, ladies." Hiccup complimented.

Tuffnut then raised his hand. "Ooh, I have a question!"

The others, even Ruffnut, looked at the male Thorston doubtfully. "It is a good question!"

"Again, Tuff, oil does _not_ make you fireproof." Hicca said.

"No not that, although that's for later." Tuffnut said. "Why are we doing this? I don't get it."

"Yeah, me neither." Ruffnut agreed.

"Never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Muttonhead 2." Snotlout said.

"Well, firstly, you never know when you can get separated from your dragon so it's good to have a way to find them." Hiccup explained.

"Especially during an invasion, you can take your enemy by surprise with this." Hicca added. "Understood?"

"Nope." Tuffnut replied.

Hiccup carried on with the explanation anyway. "Secondly, as you guys know, it's Bork Week and our dad has asked us to put on a dragon air parade."

"Which I am really excited about, I have so many ideas for the parade." Raeda said excitedly.

Ruffnut wasn't as enthusiastic. "Why are celebrating this Bork guy? Wasn't he a dragon killer or something?"

"Bork wasn't a dragon killer, he was a dragon observer." Hicca explained.

"Hicca is right Bork only killed dragons in self-defence. He studied them, learned about them, lived and breathed them." Fishlegs added.

"He was the one who made the Book of Dragons." Hiccup said.

Fishlegs nodded at that. "And without the Book of Dragons there would be no-"

"Reason for you to live?" Snotlout asked with a smirk.

"Dragon Academy, actually." Hiccup corrected his cousin with a stern look. "And there would be no cool dragon air show."

At the forge, Gobber was looking around for his an important chest. Still in the spirit of Bork week, the blacksmith decided to sing a song for the occasion.

_Bork, oh Bork, we sing your song_

_The man who studied dragons long_

_Without your work, there'd be no Berk_

_Woe's the day you went Berserk_

By the time he finished the song he found the chest and brought it to the table. He then turned around and found himself face-to-face with Mildew!

"Mildew!" Gobber yelped, jumping back. As soon as he regained his composure, he glared at the old man. "You do not sneak up on a man with a hook as an arm. Just ask Hoark!"

"Yeah, but I've got an emergency!" Mildew defended. Fungus gave out a 'baa'. "My wagon wheel suddenly broke coming to town and all my cabbage is scattered!"

"Can you come later?" Gobber asked, walking past the old man with the chest in his arms. "I've got to deliver these archives to the Great Hall, and this is not something to delay."

"But my poor, poor cabbages are on the ground." Mildew whined. "What happened to customer service, or was that a lie?"

Gobber considered strangling the old man for a minute but then shook his head and sighed. "All right, all right, I'll go look at the wheel barrow." He placed the chest back on the table and went outside, leaving Mildew in the forge. Eyeing the chest, the old man walked towards it when he was stopped by Gobbers' voice. "Touch that dagger and you'll be eating it." The blacksmith warned. Mildew scoffed and moved away from the chest, but he still continued to look at it...

Outside, Hicca, Hiccup, Midnight and Toothless looked around and saw the different types of dragons flying around with each other. It would have been a joyous view if there wasn't something missing.

"I wish there were other dragons like you and Midnight, bud." Hiccup said to Toothless. Toothless crooned at his rider.

"I wish we could find your kids." Hicca sighed, remembering the five energetic hatchlings that flew right into her and her brother on Snoggletog. They have yet to find any sign of any of those Night Furies. Midnight and Toothless both warbled sadly at the reminder of their missing children.

"Well, I'm sure they are fine wherever they are." Hiccup said, trying to keep them positive. "They must be really caught up with exploring the world after all." It worked as both the Night Furies perked up.

Just then Astrid came running to them. "Hey guys, check this out. I got my group of Nadders flying in perfect V-formation." She said excitedly, pointing upwards to five Nadders flying in a V-shaped with Stormfly in the centre.

"Wow Astrid, that's impressive." Hiccup complimented.

"Yeah and you got that done in short time." Hicca noted.

"Rae and I are having a competition to see who can train their group of Nadders to perform a better show and not to brag, but I think I got this one." Astrid informed them with a smug look.

Her expression changed when she noticed the down expressions on both the Haddock twins. "Guys?"

Hiccup decided to tell her what's wrong. "It just that Stormfly and Sparkfire have other Nadders, Hookfang has a herd of Monstrous Nightmares and Toothless and Midnight have no one else."

Astrid looked at the twins sympathetically. "They have each other and they have both of you and they seem content with that." She said gesturing to the two dragons who are now rolling in the grass.

"That's not really what we mean Astrid." Hicca said in a quiet voice.

"Toothless and Midnight will both be fine." Astrid reassured. She then remembered something. "By the way, you're dad wants both of you to come to the Great Hall. He says it's something serious."

The twins both sighed, knowing well that something 'serious' usually means that one or both of them are in trouble. "Happy Bork Week to us, sis." Hiccup said to his twin.

"Happy Bork Week." Hicca replied.

The auburn twins made their way to the Great Hall, concluding that Snotlout and the Thorston twins have gotten them into trouble again and they were ready with their excuses.

They opened the doors and saw a group of adults halting their conversations to look up at both the Haddock twins.

"Didn't anyone tell them staring is rude?" Hicca whispered to her brother, trying to ease the tension but failing.

"Hiccup, Hicca, come forward, and hold out your hands." Stoick commanded in his chief tone.

"Uh, dad, Gobber, other scary looking Vikings, I'd just like to say, in our defense, Hicca and I can't be responsible for whatever Snotlout or the Thorston twins do." Hiccup said.

"Yeah, they should be the ones summoned here to be under your stern glares not us." Hicca added

"Don't worry kids; we didn't call you two here because of those jokers, Hiccup and Hicca." Stoick informed his kids. It's good news. Gobber grunted as he carried the same chest from the forge to the table in front of the Haddock twins.

"Now then, Hicca, Hiccup, as you two know, Bork week has begun... the first one since we made peace with the dragons." Stoick said. "So it has been decided that from this moment forward, all things dragon-related, including Bork's life's work, shall be entrusted to you two and the academy."

This surprised the twins as they exchanged a look. Gobber then opened the chest on the table, allowing the twins to look at the contents. "This is where the Book of dragons started. Everything he ever wrote on the subject is in these notes..." Gobber explained. "Personal thoughts, feelings, fears, even some delicious recipes."

"Whoa. I... I don't know what to say." Hiccup said, amazed at the news.

"Me, neither. This is such an honor for us." Hicca said, eyeing every information filled paper in the chest

"Kids, this is a big part of our history. Both of you and the dragons are a big part of our future. It's now up to you to take care of both." Stoick said with great pride for his kids.

Gobber closed the chest and handed over to Hiccup, but when the Haddock boy took it the blacksmith refused to let it go. "Gobber..." Stoick warned, telling his friend to let it go, but the blonde man kept his grip firm. "Gobber!"

Hicca helped her brother and together the two were able to yank the chest away from their mentor.

"Right. They're yours now." Gobber said reluctantly.

The twins said thanks to their dad and kept the chest with them all day. Night time came and the Haddock twins and their dragons went to Hiccups' room to read all the notes. A few seconds later, Hiccups' room was flooded with notes and journals.

"Whoa. Look at all these notes, guys. It's amazing." Hiccup said as he read one of the journals

Hicca was looking through the stacks of paper while Toothless and Midnight sniffed at the notes.

"These are his personal notes. Everything he observed about dragons is right here..." Hiccup noted. He then saw one of the drawings in there and shuddered. "Along with some rather interesting sketches of his neighbors, can't un-see that."

"Do you think that there might be some long buried, undiscovered medical facts in one of these notes?" Hicca asked as she continued to read the notes she had.

"Maybe." Hiccup answered. He then noticed paper sticking out of the back cover of his book. Curious, he took it out, and read what was written on it. "This is all on the Night Fury. It's all about you two." Hiccup said to Toothless and Midnight. That got their attention as well as Hiccas', who dropped the notes she was reading and went to her brother to read as well.

_'_ _There is information about us?'_ Toothless asked.

_'_ _I thought we were unknown dragons to the vikings.'_ Midnight said.

"Bork didn't put any of this in the Book of dragons." Hiccup said, as he and his sister read the notes.

"I wonder why. How come no one saw this note?" Hicca wondered.

The twins then read what was written on it.

_My studies lead me to conclude that an entire island exists teaming with mysterious Night Furies. I call this land the Isle of Night._

The twins and dragons' eyes widened at that.

"An island... filled with Night Furies." Hiccup repeated.

"Meaning there are more Night Furies out there." Hicca realized.

_'_ _I've never heard of the Isle of Night.'_ Midnight said.

_'_ _Me neither.'_ Toothless agreed.

Hiccup turned to the two dragons. "Guys, we have to find that island. If we do, then you two won't be alone."

"And I bet I that's where you're kids have gone." Hicca said.

Midnight and Toothless perked up when they heard the mention of their kids. Could they have gone to this mysterious island? They needed to find out.

The next day, the teens were in the Academy and the Haddock twins wasted no time in telling the others about their discovery. They then got on their dragons and flew off to search for Borks' cave.

"So let me get this straight. To find this island, we have to find Bork's cave?" Snotlout asked.

"His last known place of residence." Fishlegs noted.

"Who would live in a cave?" Astrid questioned.

"Who wouldn't?" Tuffnut answered. He definitely considered living in a cave a few times.

"There must be something in there about the Isle of Night and where we can find it." Hiccup said.

"Bork's note said his cave was cut into the mountains right above Odin's shield." Fishlegs recalled.

Hiccup then spotted what they were looking for "Right there! That must be it."

"Um, so wait, so how do we know what we're looking for?" Tuffnut asked, confused.

"It's a cave. Look for a big hole in the side of a mountain." Astrid said.

"Hole, check." Tuffnut noted, grinning in triumph.

"Mountain, on it." Ruffnut reported.

Astrid rolled her eyes at the blonde twins and flew Stormfly closer to Hicca and Hiccup. "You know, we don't have to bring them every time." She said in a low voice.

"Hey, you never know Astrid. The Thorston twins may have a rare and unexpected moment of good ideas that could help us." Hicca said.

Suddenly, a loud howl was heard making the dragon riders cover their ears and the dragons stay sharp on the alert of a new dragon. However, everyone turned to the source of the sound and saw that it was Snotlout, practicing what seemed like a dragon call.

"What in the world was that?" Fishlegs asked.

"That is a Changewing call, my friend. Surprised you didn't know that." Snotlout said feeling smug.

"I would've if it sounded like one." Fishlegs retorted. "This is a Changewing." Fishlegs then gave a high-pitched howl, causing the others to cringe.

Snotlout, however, was unaffected and scoffed. "Bet you can't do a Thunderdrum."

"Oh boy." Raeda muttered, keeping her ears covered.

"Please. At least challenge me." Fishlegs said. He then cleared his throat and, taking a deep breath, he gave out a loud bellowing roar, much to the dismay of the other teens and dragons.

"Fishlegs, quit it."

"Ow!"

"Stop it! Stop!"

"Ow, you sound terrible!"

Fishlegs then stopped when he felt something hit his right shoulder real hard. "Ow!" He said, rubbing his shoulder. He picked up the object, revealing to be an arrow, but it was different. Instead of a metal spike attached to the end, it seemed to be a small metal square-shaped slab on it. Knowing who it belonged to, Fishlegs turned to the owner. "Rae, are you trying out new arrows?"

"Yep." The Henderson girl answered. "And it is getting the desired results." The other teens sent her thankful looks. "I bet I can get a lot, if I sell that idea to Gobber."

Snotlout immediately perked up at that. "Hey, Rae-"

"No." Raeda answered immediately, knowing what the Jorgenson boy was going to ask. There was no way she was going to split any of her earnings with him.

"I thought you were going to test those arrows on Snotlout." Hicca said.

"I thought so to." Raeda answered.

"Hey!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"Critics." Fishlegs muttered under his breath.

Hiccup kept his eyes open for a cave. He then spotted it. "Hey, I found an opening."

The dragons landed on the mountains and climbed to the opening with their riders still on their backs. "That Bork was a dweeb, but boy, he could climb like a mountain goat." Snotlout commented.

Another dragon call was heard.

Hiccup sighed in annoyance. "Fishlegs, enough with the dragon calls already. We don't need them right now."

"Actually, that wasn't me. Mine's far more authentic." Fishlegs said.

They were then met with a wild Thunderdrum.

"You wanna tell that to him?" Astrid asked.

"You just had to give a Thunderdrum call, didn't you Fishlegs?" Hicca asked.

"Snotlout was the one who told me to." Fishlegs defended.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know it would work?!" Snotlout asked.

"Because we just did a demo yesterday on how dragon calls can work easily." Raeda answered exasperated.

"Head for the cave!" Hiccup ordered. The dragons flew up to the opening of the cave, only to find it missing.

"Wait. What cave?" Ruffnut asked, confused.

"We just saw it! There was a hole." Astrid said, starting to panic.

"Yeah, and now the hole's gone." Tuffnut said.

"It cannot be gone just like that." Raeda said.

The Thunderdrum then flew over them, causing Hiccup to come up with a new plan. "Snotlout, Rae, Ruff, and Tuff, you guys look for the cave opening. We'll lure the Thunderdrum away."

With that he, Hicca, Astrid and Fishlegs lured the Thunderdrum away, while the others searched for the opening of the cave

"Fishlegs, Thunderdrum call!" Hiccup shouted.

"Wish you'd make up your mind." Fishlegs muttered. He started clearing his throat, but he took some time to do so.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup shouted again.

"Anytime now." Hicca yelled.

Finally, Fishlegs gave a loud Thunderdrum roar which succeeded in getting the Thunderdrums' attention.

Though it was something Fishlegs was not happy about. "Aah!" He screamed as he steered Meatlug away from the wild dragon.

Meanwhile, Snotlout, Raeda, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were in front of the cave looking for the opening. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were even banging their heads against the rocks to find the entrance, but no luck.

"It was right here. I swear it was." Snotlout said, as he knocked on a few rocks.

"I really don't get how an opening can just-" Raeda cut herself off when a Changewing appeared right in front of them! Turns out the entrance never vanished, it was just concealed by the Changewings' camouflage.

"Oh right. Snotlout, you did a Changewing dragon call." Raeda said as she stepped back from the Changewing.

The Changewing then shot out and grabbed Snotlout and took him away. "Aah! Oh, no! Unh!" Snotlout screamed, struggling to free himself from the Changewings grasp. "Hey, hey! Put me down! Hookfang!"

Hookfang looked up when he heard his name and saw that his rider was captured.

_'_ _I'll save you Snotlout!'_ Hookfang said as he flew to where the Changewing was.

"Way to go, Hookfang!" Snotlout cheered as he saw his dragon fly for him. Hookfang then started shooting fireballs at the Changewing, thinking that this will make it let go of Snotlout, but in doing so he nearly burnt Snotlout. "Aah! Go away, Hookfang!"

Hookfang was surprised but this command but he decided to comply. _'Well if you insist. I thought you wanted my help, though.'_

Meanwhile back in the sky, Fishlegs and Meatlug were still being chased by the wild Thunderdrum. "Okay. Little help here." Fishlegs begged to the other teens.

Raeda and Sparkfire flew up towards Hiccup, Toothless, Hicca, Midnight, Astrid and Stormfly. "We found the opening. It was exactly at the place we saw it."

"You two go see what you can find. We'll keep this guy busy." Astrid said to Hiccup and Hicca, referring to the Thunderdrum.

"What about Snotlout?" Hiccup asked, looking at his cousin, who's being treated like a toy by the Changewing.

"Ooh! Not feeling the trust!" Snotlout yelled.

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut aren't doing anything." Hicca suggested.

Hiccup nodded and got the Thorston twins' attention "Ruff! Tuff!"

"On it." The blonde twins said as they went with their dragons to where Snotlout and the Changewing were.

"You're giving me the Thorston twins?" Snotlout complained. The Changewing then started hitting him against the side of the mountain. "Aah! Unh! Okay! I'll take the Thorston twins! Unh!" He conceded.

"Go!" Astrid said to the auburn twins

Hiccup and Hicca flew Toothless and Midnight straight into the opening of the cave.

"Carefull, bud." Hiccup said to Toothless.

"Keep your eyes sharp girl." Hicca said to Midnight.

They followed the path of the cave until they came across an area which looked like it was used as a home.

"Bork's cave, this is it." Hiccup realized. "We have to hurry, guys."

"Yeah, there's no telling how long the others can keep the two dragons occupied.

Outside the cave, Fishlegs and Meatlug were still being chased by the Thunderdrum.

_'_ _Isn't anyone going to help us here?'_ Meatlug wondered while she flew as fast as she could to avoid the Thunderdrum.

Astrid then gave out a Thunderdrum dragon call, drawing the Thunderdrums' attention away from Fishlegs and Meatlug and onto her and Stormfly.

"Thank you! If I survive, I can help you fine tune that call." Fishlegs yelled, grateful.

Meanwhile, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were brainstorming ideas to free Snotlout, but their minds seem to focus on one idea only.

"Let's blast him out." Tuffnut said.

"Yeah! Let's blast him!" Ruffnut agreed.

Snotlout did not like the idea at all. "What? No! No blasting! Blasting bad! Blasting hurt! Long was down-" He was cut off when Ruff and Tuff signaled Barf and Belch to fire at the Changewing. The Zippleback did as it was told, but they only succeeded in making the Changewing fly higher in the air. "Much better, thank you." Snotlout said sarcastically.

Raeda and Sparkfire then flew by. "You know, Snotlout? This could be payback for stealing and selling the Changewings' eggs." She said, quite enjoying Snotlouts' predicament.

"How about you stop talking about payback and help me?!" Snotlout yelled. ( **A/N: This scene was suggested by someone in the reviews from the old version which got deleted. I can't remember who it was who suggested it, but whoever it was, you know who you are and thanks!** )

"Fine." Raeda said. She had Sparkfire shoot spines at the Changewing, but it only got the wild dragon to move away from the purple Nadder.

"Seriously?!" Snotlout shouted.

Raeda shrugged "I tried." She then went back to Astrid and Fishlegs to help him with the Thunderdrum.

Back in the cave, the Haddock twins and the Night Furies flew deeper into the tunnel and landed. Hiccup and Hicca got off their dragons and started looking around.

"There's gotta be something here." Hiccup said.

"I can't see anything in the dark." Hicca commented, squinting her eyes.

Toothless and Midnight fired plasma blasts into the fireplace and lit up the cave.

"Thanks, guys." Hiccup said.

Hicca then saw something on the wall. "Guys, look." She said pointing at the wall.

"What is that?" Hiccup wondered, taking a closer look at the drawing on the wall. The drawing showed a group of islands together. Hiccup then realized what it was. "Guys, it's a map... to the Isle of Night! We found it! Okay." Hiccup turned to his sister. "Did you get your journal?"

Hicca was ahead of him as she already took out her journal and a charcoal stick. She copied down the map as fast as she could.

Suddenly, there was an explosion coming from outside the cave, causing the rocks inside the cave to fall. "What was that?" Hiccup asked.

"Nothing good." Hicca answered as she copied down the map at a fast speed.

"Please tell me you're done with the map." Hiccup said to his sister.

"Almost, I need more time." Hicca said.

A rock then fell right to where Hiccup was standing! Luckily, Toothless saw this and pulled his rider out just in time.

"I got it! We can leave now!" Hicca said, shutting her notebook and shoving it in her satchel.

The two humans then got on their dragons and the four of them looked for a way out.

"Hiccup and Hicca are trapped." Astrid said, as she saw the entrance blocked.

"Aah! I'm in a tough spot here myself." Snotlout said as the Changewing wrapped its' tail around the boys' legs.

His "rescuers" were not doing anything to help. "I know you think our plan didn't work, but believe me, this Changewing is playing right into our hand." Tuffnut said as he sat there looking relaxed.

The Changewing then started using Snotlout as a yo-yo. "Sorry." Snotlout grunted. "I don't believe you. Unh!"

The Changewing then brought Snotlout face to face. "Aah! Stupid drag-" Snotlout started to say before the Changewing dropped him once again. "Aah!" Once again, the Changewing caught him.

Back in the cave, the group flew to the opening of the cave, only to find it blocked.

"Oh, no." Hiccup said. "Well, this is just great. We're trapped. And neither of you can use your shots without bringing the whole ceiling down."

"What now?" Hicca asked.

Toothless and Midnight then gave out roars, to the surprise of their riders.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What was that?" Hiccup asked.

"What are you guys doing?" Hicca asked.

The two Night Furies ignored their riders and continued to roar at the tunnels in the cave. The used their ears to locate where their sound waves bounced off the walls. They then went down a path.

"Okay, where are you two going? How are you guys seeing?" Hiccup asked, as the two dragons continued to search for an exit. They finally found one and got out just in time.

"Woo-hoo! We're out in one piece!" Hicca cheered.

"Thanks, guys." Hiccup said to Toothless and Midnight.

They then flew back to the group. "Somebody call for backup?" Hiccup announced.

"Hiccup, Hicca, you two made it!" Astrid said, relieved.

"How'd you guys find a way out?" Raeda asked.

"Don't ask us how, because neither of us know." Hiccup said.

"We got this. Go help Snotlout." Astrid said.

"Yeah, he could really use it." Raeda agreed.

"Let's go!" Hicca said as the four of them flew to where Snotlout and the Changewing were.

The Changewing landed on the island and kept Snotlout upright under its' head. The Changewing ate some grass and then spat it on Snotlouts' helmet.

"Aw, you made a new friend." Hiccup said as he, Hicca and their dragons arrived.

"Yeah, it's not as friendly as it looks." Snotlout said.

The auburn twins exchanged a look and nodded at each other. They had Toothless and Midnight fire plasma blasts at the Changewing, making sure not to hit Snotlout. This caused the Changewing to toss Snotlout in the air and fly away.

"Aah!" Snotlout screamed as he flew in the air.

"Hookfang, now!" Hiccup ordered. The Monstrous Nightmare flew straight to where his rider was and caught him, placing him on the saddle, to his riders' relief. "Now that's how you rescue somebody." Snotlout said to Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"Hey, everything went exactly as we planned." Tuffnut said.

"Yeah. Keep the Changewing busy until Hiccup shows up." Ruffnut explained.

Having gotten what they wanted, they all went back to Berk.

"I still can't believe you guys survived that cave-in." Astrid said.

"Neither can we. I mean, it was all Toothless and Midnight." Hiccup said.

"Yeah, they sent out these weird sounds, they bounced back toward us, and somehow these two used it to find their way out." Hicca explained.

"Learn something new every day." Raeda commented.

"I don't get it. How do you use sound to guide you?" Fishlegs wondered.

"I do it all the time. Whenever I hear your voice, I go the other way." Snotlout said, laughing.

"So did you guys find anything?" Astrid asked

"Only a map...to the Isle of Night." Hiccup answered.

"Luckily I managed to copy it down in my notebook before the cave collapsed." Hicca said.

"Nice! When do we leave?" Astrid asked.

"First thing in the morning." Hiccup said. He then turned to Toothless and Midnight. "By this time tomorrow, guys, you are both going to be knee-deep in Night Furies."

"And chances are, you'll both be surrounded by your kids." Hicca said.

Both Midnight and Toothless warbled excitedly. They couldn't wait!

They made it to Berk and got a good night sleep. Hiccup and Hicca got up extra early and started re-checking all their notes, when Hiccup saw a vital piece of information. "Hicca we missed on. Look at this, it says there's a reason that there's only Night Furies on that island." Hiccup turned to Midnight and Toothless. "Turns out you guys aren't so friendly to other dragons. 'Herds of Night Furies can be extremely hostile to other species'. If the other kids come with us on their dragons..."

"It would end up in a disaster." Hicca finished, looking as worried as her brother was. "We cannot let them come with us, but there is no way they are going to let us go without them. Best if we go now."

"Agree." Hiccup said. "Well, looks like it's just the four of us."

The Haddock twins gathered some food, water, notes and a medical kit just in case and snuck out of the house and out of Berk.

"Well, this is it, guys." Hiccup said. "You two are finally gonna see you're not alone. Next stop, the Island of night."

"This is so exciting." Hicca said smiling as they flew off.

Later on in the morning, the rest of the dragon riders were up and waiting for their leaders in the Academy.

"Where're Hiccup and Hicca?" Fishlegs asked.

"It is morning, right?" Tuffnut asked.

"They should've been the first ones here. And if they're not here already…" Raeda trailed off.

"They wouldn't... would they?" Astrid asked, hoping they were wrong.

"They probably would." Raeda answered.

The two girls got on their dragons and flew to the Haddock Household to make sure. They knocked and then went inside to find Stoick carving out a wooden duck.

"We're sorry to bother you, sir." Astrid said.

"Oh, it's not a problem, Astrid and Raeda." Stoick said, turning his attention to the two girls. "Just doing my morning woodwork. It's quite relaxing."

"Um, sir, have you seen Hiccup and Hicca?" Astrid asked carefully.

"Well, I woke up and they were already gone." Stoick answered, unknowingly confirmed both girls suspicions.

"Should I tell them you're both looking for them?" Stoick offered.

"Uh, no need for that, sir. I actually think I saw them go for an early morning flight, wouldn't be the first. We'll just meet up with them later." Raeda said calmly with a smile.

Suddenly Astrid got an idea "Yeah, but just in case, I think I'll leave them a note in Hiccups' room." Astrid said.

"Ah, well, be my guest." Stoick said, putting his attention back to his carving.

"You go ahead, Rae. I'll be back once I leave the note." Astrid said.

Raeda caught on fast. "Got it." She then went outside where Fishlegs and Meatlug were and waited with them for Astrid.

A few minutes later, Astrid came out of the house. "Hiccup and Hicca must've copied the map from Hiccas' notebook." She said. She then smiled. "Fortunately." She held Hiccas' notebook in her hand.

"Yes!" Fishlegs said happily.

"Good thing Hicca choose now of all times to leave her notebook behind." Raeda said. The three of them and their dragons went back to the Academy. They got a trip to prepare for.

Relax, bud. Trust me. If this map is right, you're gonna like what we find here.

Meanwhile, Hiccup, Hicca, Midnight and Toothless finally reached their destination.

"We made it." Hicca said, smiling. They landed on the Isle of Night and looked around.

"Are you guys ready?" Hiccup asked Toothless and Midnight.

The two Night Furies warbled yes.

"Okay. Here goes."

The auburn twins cupped their mouths and gave two identical Night Fury roars.

A few seconds later, they heard a howl in the distance.

"I can't believe it. Did you guys hear that?" Hiccup asked the other three, getting excited.

"I definitely did. That was a dragon call. We did it!" Hicca said, also getting excited. She then spotted something in the distance. "Look!" They saw a figure of a Night Fury.

Hiccup and Hicca got off their dragons. "Bork was right. Go get 'em, guys." Hiccup said. Toothless and Midnight looked at little hesitantly at their riders. It's okay. Go, go. We're right behind you two."

"Go on. Go meet your new friend." Hicca encouraged.

The two dragons bounded off, excited to make a new friend.

Hicca and Hiccup walked behind them looking around the place. However, a look around the island made the twins uneasy for some reason.

"Hey, sis, are you starting to have the feeling that…" Hiccup trailed.

"There's something off about this island?" Hicca finished. Her brother nodded. "Yeah, I'm getting a bad feeling about this." She then called out to her dragon. "Midnight, maybe we should stick together."

"Hicca's right. Toothless, come back!" Hiccup called to his dragon.

The two Night Furies were confused, but they complied. They were about to go back to their riders when two bolas came from out of nowhere and captured the two dragons!

"Midnight!"

"Toothless, no!"

The two teens tried to run to their dragons only to be tackled down by Outcasts! They were pinned to the floor and struggled from their captors. They looked up and saw the Outcasts chief himself walked towards them, looking smug.

"Alvin." Hiccup and Hicca said, glaring at the older man.

Two other Outcasts then dragged the Night Fury they saw earlier, which was revealed to be a fake all along. "Amazingly realistic, wouldn't you two say, Hiccup and Hicca?"

The twins turned their attention to their dragons, who were struggling from their bonds.

"Let go of them!" Hiccup grunted as he and his sister continued to try to break free, but with no luck. "What do you want?"

"I want me own dragon trainers. And by the looks of it, I've got them." Alvin answered.

"We are not going to train your dragons, Alvin." Hiccup said with a glare.

"Never in a million years." Hicca agreed.

But Alvin just chuckled. "Oh, I think you two will. And once you two have, I'll use 'em to destroy Berk." He then turned to his men. "Take them!" The two Outcast who pinned the two teens down kept a firm grip on them and forced them upright.

"I don't understand. How did you do this?" Hiccup asked.

"You couldn't have done this without some extra help." Hicca deduced.

Back on Berk, Gobber knocked on Mildews' door. "Mildew, open up! I've got your wheel, and she's good as new. Home delivery! You don't get better customer service than this." He got annoyed when he didn't get a response. Oh, come on, you cranky old... I know you're in there." He then decided to go with Plan B, which was kicking the door down. He looked inside and was surprised to find the place empty. There nothing in there to suggested that someone was living there. "What in the name of Odin's skivvies?"

In the Academy, the other teens got all the supplies they needed and were about to saddle up when Stoick flew in with Thornado. "Has anyone seen Hiccup and Hicca?" He then noticed the teens packed up and ready to go somewhere. "Where are you lot off to?"

"Uh, just a training exercise." Astrid answered, trying not to show any nervousness.

"Yeah, uh, Hiccup and Hicca already went ahead, so we're going to catch up with them. And they said this exercise would take longer than usual, so we packed some…snacks." Raeda added.

Though it was a good answer, the chief could tell by the other teens' expressions that there was something they didn't want him to know. He then went to the easiest target for the truth. "Fishlegs?"

The poor Ingerman boy, tried hard to keep his mouth shut. He whimpered a little, knowing there was no way to avoid the chiefs' stern glare. After a few seconds, he cracked. "We're going to the Isle of Night to look for Hiccup and Hicca. It's an island full of Night Furies, could be dangerous, maybe not. Wanna come?"

Astrid sighed in frustration, while Raeda muttered a "Come on, Fishlegs." Under her breathe.

Gobber came into the Academy. "There you are, Stoick. Strangest thing at Mildew's place. It's completely cleared out, no sign of him anywhere." He said. That gave Stoick a bad feeling for some reason.

Back on the "Isle of Night" Toothless and Midnight were being carried to the ship while Hicca and Hiccup were being tied by the Outcasts. Unbeknownst to the Outcasts, Hiccup silently got his sisters' attention and sent her some signals. After the whole ordeal with Dagur the Deranged, the Haddock twins came up with the idea of made their own hand signals for each other so that they could send each other silent messages whenever they wanted. The hand signals were subtle gestures that made them unnoticeable.

Hicca decoded what her brother was trying to tell her and wanted to protest, but then she realized that she had no choice. Alvin could not get away with taking both of them just like that. They needed to do something.

When the Outcast finished tying her, Hicca decided that now was the chance. She stomped on his foot as hard as possibly could, which was hard enough as the Outcast gave out a yelp and clutched his foot in pain. He unconsciously took a step forward, allowing Hicca to trip him up. She then darted off into the forest without looking back, just as her brother told her to.

"Alvin, the girl escaped!" One of the Outcasts informed their leader who just walked to where they were.

Alvin looked at where Hicca ran off to, then where Hiccup still was. The Outcast leader was considering his options when he made a decision. "Let her go. If it's one thing I've learned, it's to let them stall for a minute. After all, we still have one dragon trainer. And there is nothing on this island that will help the girl. There is a reason why we choose this island, after all. Take the boy to the ship!"

Hiccup was taken to the ship and shoved at Toothless and Midnight. He saw Alvin and the Outcasts board the ship, but what he was surprised to see was that Mildew was also on the ship.

"Mildew, what are you doing here?" Hiccup questioned.

"Ah, look at ya. You and you're sister were the brightest boy and girl on the island, yet you were trapped by a silly old man and his sheep." Mildew sneered, while Phil baa'd.

"How could you do this?" Hiccup demanded, stunned by Mildews' betrayal.

"You and you sister did it, Hiccup." Mildew answered. "You two believed our Bork notes, followed the map we drew. You both walked right into our trap, all for the love of a dragon. So what if one of you escaped. It won't change anything. She'll be stranded on this island. Mm, maybe you'll think twice next time about where you place your loyalties."

"There won't be a next time." Alvin said. "Raise the sails! We're headed home... to Outcast island."

What none of them were aware of was that they were being watched from a spy-glass by Hicca. The Haddock girl panicked when she saw the ship leave. She set the spyglass down and held her head in her hands, what was she going to do now?


	21. We Are Family Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having fallen for Alvins' trap. Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight struggle to free themselves while the others work to rescue the hostages.

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from How to train your dragons**

**Chapter 21: We Are Family II**

_Previously on the Haddock Twins: Riders of Berk_

_It is Bork Week and Stoick gave Hicca and Hiccup notes made by Bork containing everything he learned about dragons. After finding a hidden note, the Haddock twins discovered a place called Isle of Nights, which is believed to be a home for Night Furies. The twins then set out to find the mysterious place. However, in the end, it turned out to be a trap by Alvin the Treacherous who got help from Mildew. As a last minute attempt to stop the Outcasts, Hicca managed to escape their clutches. But she is now stranded on the island, while Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight were taken to Outcast Island._

On Outcast Island, Hiccup was taken to the dragon cages with his hands tied in front of him. "Where are Toothless and Midnight, Alvin?"

Alvin and Savage were walking behind Hiccup, pushing the younger boy forward. You'll see them soon enough. I guarantee it." Alvin simply said.

"You know, I have to admit... luring me and Toothless to the Isle of Night, building a fake Night Fury... not bad." Hiccup said.

That made Alvin chuckle "Ha ha! 'Not bad...' says the one-legged boy in manacles."

"But turning Mildew into an Outcast? Using him against us? Come on, Alvin. That's low-hanging fruit... even for you." Hiccup finished.

That caused Savage to snicker, which made the Outcast chief hit the other man on the head. "No one thinks you're funny, boy. Now, keep movin'!" Alvin said, shoving Hiccup forward.

The three of them reached a Whispering Death cage, where they saw a restrained Whispering Death trying to escape by digging a hole through the ground.

"You know it's gonna keep doing that, right? It is a Whispering Death." Hiccup pointed out. They moved on to the next cage, which had a Scauldron. The water dragon was drinking some water and then spraying it at the Outcasts guard. The guard ran for cover.

"A Scauldron... impressive. You might wanna cut back its water." Hiccup advised as they continued walking.

"Oy, write that down." Alvin ordered Savage. The two men paused in front of the Scauldrons' cage. The Scauldron saw them and was about to shoot water at them, when Alvin and Savage quickly moved away.

They then came to the third cage, which seems to be empty.

"It's escaped again!" An Outcast guard exclaimed.

Hiccup then noticed something the others didn't. "Actually, no. It's right behind you." Hiccup corrected. "Changewing."

The Changewing then started shooting acid at the guards. "Aah!"

"Whoo! Wow, you guys really don't have a handle on these dragons, do you?" Hiccup commented.

"Well, that's why you're here. Welcome to your new job, Hiccup." Alvin said smirking.

"A job? Me? As inviting as that sounds, I'm gonna have to pass." Hiccup declined, though he knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup... Why do you have to make things so difficult?" Alvin mocked.

"Really not the first time I've been asked that question." Hiccup answered. He then stopped when in front of a cage when he saw two very familiar dragons all chained up. "Toothless! Midnight!"

The two Night Furies snarled, struggling to break free from their chains. "Hang in there, you two. I'll get you both out." Hiccup promised.

"They're not going anywhere. Neither are you. Need I remind you that you're only savior is stuck on a dragon-less island?" Hiccup glared at the Outcast chief. "You will help me train these dragons."

_'_ _Don't do it, Hiccup!'_ Midnight said.

_'_ _We'll be fine, Hiccup! Don't worry about us!'_ Toothless said.

"And if I don't?" Hiccup challenged.

"Well... then they're no good to me. None of 'em! Especially yours and your sisters'." Alvin responded, before Savage brought Hiccup to his cage.

"Can I get you anything... food, a cozy blanket, some warm yak milk?" Savage offered in a mocking tone. Hiccup just glared at him, as the second in command slammed the cage door shut. "Ha ha ha! Yak milk!" Resigned to his fate, Hiccup sat in his cage and hoped that his sister was having better luck, finding a way out of the island. It was literally a desperate, last-second plan he thought of that might be able to help them escape Alvins' clutches, but it backfired when Alvin decided to leave her there. Now Hiccup could only sit there and wonder how Hicca is, and he is not happy with that.

Meanwhile, oblivious to what happened, the other teens accompanied by Gobber, Stoick and Thornado arrived on the Isle of Night.

"The Isle of Night!" Fishlegs exhaled. "Finally, the chance to see Night Furies in their natural habitat! I'm bursting at the seams!"

"Don't wet yourself. I'm right behind you." Snotlout warned.

"Gobber and I will check the North side. You kids head south. If we find anything, you'll hear it from Thornado." Stoick instructed.

They then separated.

"All right, this place is gonna be crawling with Night Furies, so let's fly low till we get a sense of where Hiccup might be and how many Night Furies there are." Astrid said.

"And be careful. Remember what Bork said about the hostile dragons." Raeda warned.

Back on Outcast Island, Hiccup was devising a way to escape when he heard some voices coming in his direction. "Alvin, I gave you what you wanted. We had a deal!" Mildew said as he was being pushed by Alvin.

"And now we have a new deal." Alvin said, before pushing Mildew in a cage opposite of Hiccup. "Oh, I believe you two know each other. Don't get too chummy. Mildew's hours are numbered, much like you and the Night Fury." The Outcast leader then took Phil, who baaed.

"Oh! No! Where are you taking Fungus?" Mildew demanded.

"I'm taking him to prepare your final meal. It's lamb." Alvin sneered as he took away the sheep.

Mildew gasped. "Fungus! No!" He exclaimed, desperately holding his hand out of the cage.

"Berkians. Still as dumb as the day I left." Alvin said as he left with the sheep.

"What have I done?" Mildew sobbed, sinking to the floor.

On the Isle of Night, Raeda spotted something. "Guys, look! A fire!" She pointed out. "It must be Hiccup and Hicca."

Astrid spotted something near the fire. "The fire's near a Night Fury." She said. The teens flew to get a closer look. Once they got a closer look, they realized something. "Uh... guys, this isn't a..."

Unfortunately, the Thorston twins didn't notice it. "Night Fury!" Tuffnut yelled, before he and Ruffnut commanded Barf and Belch to blow up the "Night Fury"

"But it's very realistic." Fishlegs noted.

"Definitely used good paints for this." Raeda commented.

"Yeah. Good thing we came along when we did." Tuffnut said proudly.

Astrid gave the blonde twins incredulous looks. "What were you thinking? If that was Toothless or Midnight, you could have killed them!"

"Actually they wouldn't because all dragons are fire-proof on the outside." Raeda pointed out.

"Yeah, well, if my chicken had horns, he'd be my yak." Tuffnut said.

"And if I were weak and girly, I'd be my brother." Ruffnut said.

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed, before realizing what his sister said. "Wait. What?"

Just then Thornado flew in. "We saw the Zippleback fire from the sky. Did you find something?" Stoick asked.

"We did. A fake Night Fury." Astrid reported.

"Where is it?" The Berkian chief asked.

"Uh... gone?" Fishlegs said, hesitantly "Blown to pieces, actually."

Knowing who was responsible for this, the chief glared at the two culprits who tried to look innocent.

Gobber got off Thornado and examined the remains of the fake Night Fury. "Eh. Well, what do we have here?" He then smelled the material and shuddered. He put the material in front of Fishlegs. "Smell this." He said. Fishlegs did so and gagged at the aroma. "Nasty, isn't it?"

"Oh, I wanna smell. Put it near my face." Tuffnut said eagerly.

"This false head was made of dragon skin then covered with ash from a charred Loki tree." Gobber informed the others.

"Oh no." Raeda said, her eyes widening along with Stoicks'. Both of them knew about Loki trees and knew where Gobber was going with this and began to worry.

"Loki tree? Never heard of it." Snotlout said.

"That's because it only grows in one place." Stoick said grimly.

"Outcast island." A voice called from behind the group. Startled, the group turned to see the source of the voice and saw Hicca coming out of the forest.

"Hicca!" Stoick said, running to hug his daughter.

"You're okay!" Raeda exclaimed, relieved to see one of her best friends alright.

"Where're Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight?" Astrid asked, hoping that the other three were somewhere around this island.

Hiccup held a sad expression after her hug as she turned to face everyone else. "It was a trap. The whole thing, the notes, the map, the island. There is no Isle of Night. It was a trap to lure the four of us here by ourselves right to Alvin the Treacherous. I managed to escape but Hiccup, Midnight and Toothless weren't that lucky."

Everyones' eyes widened at the revelation. "This doesn't make sense. You guys got the note from Borks' book. How in the world could an Outcast sneak into Berk, unlock the chest and slip the note in the book without anyone noticing?" Fishlegs questioned.

"They didn't, Mildew did." Hicca answered grimly. I saw Mildew on the Outcast boat before they left.

"Oh wait till I get my hands on that old man." Gobber said.

"Get in line." Raeda said, clenching her bow.

"Enough! We'll deal with that later. We need to get to Outcast Island and rescue Hiccup, Toothless and Midnight." Stoick said.

On Outcast Island, Hiccup was trying to dig a tunnel in his cage using a rock, but with no luck. "Really, this is so hard to watch." Mildew said, as he watched the boy from his cage.

Hiccup sighed in annoyance. "What now?"

"Well, I just thought Stoick raised a smarter boy than this." Mildew said. "You'll never save your dragon by sitting in this cell, digging in the dirt. You need to go get him... and soon!"

"And how would you suggest I do that?" Hiccup questioned, not trusting the old man one bit after what he did.

"By giving Alvin what he wants." Mildew answered.

Alvin and Savage were checking the cages with the new improvements Hiccup suggested on. "We reinforced the floor with cast iron." Savage reported, gesturing to the Whispering Deaths' cage, which was now built to withstand the dragons' force, making the dragon unable to dig out. "And this one only gets enough water to keep it alive." He said, referring to the Scauldron cage. Due to the minimum water, the Scauldron was unable to produce any boiling hot water to spray.

"Boy's proven useful already." Alvin commented.

"You'd be quite a sight riding into Berk on either his or his sisters' Night Fury." Savage said.

"I would, wouldn't I? I'll have to change my name." Alvin said. "What's worse than 'the Treacherous', ey?"

Meanwhile, something seemed to be wrong with Toothless and Midnight as the two Night Furies, just hung there limped. Two guards noticed this. "What's wrong with those Night Furies?" One of the guards asked.

"They won't eat or drink. Neither of them has moved in hours!" The other guard answered.

"Well, keep them alive." The first guard ordered. "If they die, we lose our leverage with the boy."

Back in his cage, Hiccup decided to set his plan in motion. "G-guard, guard! I can't take it! Please! I'll tell Alvin whatever he wants to know. Just let me out of here." Hiccup pleaded. The guard came to his cage and pulled out the keys to unlock the cage. What the guard didn't notice was that Hiccup removed his prosthetic leg and hid it behind himself. As soon as the guard opened the door, Hiccup whacked him in the head with the prosthetic using as much force as he could gather. Unfortunately that wasn't enough as the guard was only knocked backwards and looking quite angry. "That worked a little better in my mind." Hiccup admitted.

Just as the guard took one step, Mildew knocked him out cold with his staff!

Hiccup walked out of his cell, looking at Mildew with shock. "Wow. Thanks."

He was about to leave when Mildew stopped him. "Wait! Take me with you."

"You're kidding me, right?" Hiccup asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No! I know how to get around this island. I can help you, Hiccup. Please... let me make it up to you." Mildew pleaded.

After a brief internal debate, Hiccup sighed and grabbed the keys from the unconscious guard. "Don't make me regret this, Mildew." He said as he opened Mildews' cell door.

Meanwhile, the two guards were still trying to help Midnight and Toothless. "Try a cod." Guard #1 suggested. "I-is it breathing?"

"What, the fish?" Guard #2 asked dumbly.

"No, you simpleton! The dragon! Oh, never mind." Guard #1 opened the cage door and began to remove Toothless' muzzle. "Remove the other Night Fury's muzzle. We have to get them to eat. If they die... we die."

As soon as they removed the muzzles, Toothless and Midnight looked at the two guards and snarled.

"Uh-oh." Guard #1 said as he and the other guard step back, realizing that they have been tricked.

The cell was suddenly filled with plasma blast and a few moments later, Toothless and Midnight emerged from the cell and ran off.

_'_ _We need to find Hiccup quickly before someone finds us.'_ Toothless warbled to his mate

_'_ _I'm going to find a way out of here. I need to find the island and rescue Hicca.'_ Midnight warbled back.

_'_ _Okay, but be careful.'_ With that, the two Night Furies went their separate ways.

What neither dragons were aware of was that Hiccup and Mildew were already outside the prison. "Okay, what's the quickest way to get to Toothless and Midnight?" Hiccup asked.

"Through that lava field." Mildew answered.

"Let's go!"

"N... wait! You do realize those are wild dragons down there?" Mildew asked, rhetorically.

"Yep." Hiccup answered nonchalantly.

They went to the dragons and slowly approach a wild Nadder.

"Well, come on, then, let's go." Hiccup said, walking to the Nadder.

"Uh, let's not." Mildew said.

"I know what I'm doing, Mildew. Just stay behind me." Hiccup reassured.

"Oh, perfect. A 90-pound boy's my human shield." Mildew scoffed. "I'm not go..." He was cut off when he tripped.

He got up and they continued to approach the Nadder with caution.

Meanwhile, back in the prison, Toothless continued to sniff around for his human when he was spotted by a few more Outcast guards. "There's the Night Fury!"

But they were no match against Toothless as the Night Fury finished them off moments later.

Outside, Hiccup and Mildew came in front of the Nadder, but the old man decided to raise his staff in defense. "No, Mildew! The last thing you wanna do is threaten him." Hiccup warned.

"Me? Threaten him?" Mildew asked, dubiously.

"W-we have to show him he can trust us." Hiccup said. He then turned to the Nadder and made his way to the tail. He then smoothed it out. "It's okay. We're not here to hurt you. That's it, fella."

"Very impressive." Mildew admitted when he saw the Nadder calming down. The Nadder then spotted the old man and went to sniff him in curiosity, much to Mildews' dismay.

"He's just getting to know you. They can sense fear, so be relaxed." Hiccup advised.

"This is relaxed." Mildew said in a strained voice, as he clutched onto his staff.

"See? He wants to be friends. Isn't that nice?" Hiccup said.

"Got plenty of friends." Mildew mumbled.

"We're gonna need a way to get past all those guards at the dragon pit. I think we just found it." Hiccup explained.

The Deadly Nadder then started licking Mildew. "Eech!"

Meanwhile, the rest of the dragon riders, Stoick and Gobber were making their way to Outcast Island. "What's the plan?" Astrid asked the chief.

"Alvin knows we'll be coming in from the sky. We have to find another way onto Outcast island." Stoick answered.

"Then we get Hiccup and our dragons and we ambush Alvin with everything we've got." Hicca said with determination as she rode with Raeda on Sparkfire.

"I like that plan a lot." Tuffnut said.

Gobber looked down at the sea and spotted a very familiar ship. "Stoick." He said, pointing to the ship.

Stoick saw the ship. "Is that..."

"I think it is." Gobber answered.

The group then flew towards the ship, with a plan in mind.

In the Outcast prison, Toothless kept sniffing around for Hiccup.

_'_ _Please be okay, Hiccup. Please.'_ He said to himself.

He was then interrupted by another Outcast guard, who was rather amazed at seeing a Night Fury for the first time. "A Night Fury... with my own eyes."

_'_ _Idiot!'_ Toothless snorted. He then roared loudly at the guard.

"Oh!" The guard muttered, realizing what was going to happen next.

_BLAST!_

A few minutes later, the Outcast gathered excitedly outside at their docks as they waited for a ship to arrive.

The ship arrived and Trader Johann came out to greet the Outcasts. "Ah, Outcast! My favorite of all the islands I travel to!" He said, as he set the plank. The Outcasts then boarded the ship looking around. "That's right. Look around. I have weapons of every imaginable description." He then made his way towards the hatch that led to the lower deck of the ship. "And a little something special for my friend Alvin."

He then opened the hatched, and out came the dragon riders and Stoick and Gobber, charging right at the surprised Outcasts.

Stoick punched an Outcast through a shield, Gobber knocked out an outcast Astrid and Raeda faced off against two Outcasts and won, Snotlout swung an anchor against a few of the Outcasts, Hicca tripped an Outcast and pushed him overboard and Ruffnut and Tuffnut surprised another Outcast by falling on him from above.

"Whoa! That was a lot better than just punching them." Tuffnut said to his twin, who nodded in agreement.

Fishlegs surprised everyone when charged at an Outcast, screaming at the top of his voice. Remember this side of Fishlegs, Snotlout quickly stepped away from the Ingerman boy as he flipped an Outcast overboard "That felt really good." Fishlegs said. "Is that wrong?" He asked, turning to Astrid, Raeda and Ruffnut who were looking very impressed.

Stoick grabbed the remaining Outcast still on board and held him up. "Now, where're my boy and my childrens' dragons?" He demanded.

They were interrupted by a roar in the distance. Hicca recognized the roar anywhere and ran out of the ship and to the docks towards the source. "Midnight!" She exclaimed, hugging her dragon. "Oh, Midnight! I am so glad you're okay! I was so worried!"

The others followed her after Stoick threw the last Outcast overboard. "Hiccup and Toothless aren't with her." Fishlegs noted.

"Midnight, do you know where they are?" Hicca asked. The female Night Fury nodded. "Great, take us to them."

Meanwhile, Hiccup was giving Mildew tips on taming a wild dragon. "Remember, dragon training begins and ends with trust... both of yours." He explained as he climbed on the Nadder. "Now, climb on."

Mildew reluctantly got on, grumbling on the way. "That's a good boy. Nice dragon."

"Wow. Uh, Mildew on a dragon. This is gonna take some getting used to." Hiccup muttered.

The Nadder then began shifting its' weight. "Eh, why's it doing that? What's happening?" Mildew demanded.

"It's okay, it's okay! He's just never had people on him before." Hiccup said. He then spit in his hands and rub the Nadders' scales. "A dragon's hide is dry. The moisture from your hands will soothe him." As if to prove his point, the Nadder squawked in delight.

Mildew did the same, causing the dragon to coo.

The Nadder then took off, much to Mildews' fright as the old man grabbed onto Hiccup.

"Uh, you know there's a lot of dragon here, Mildew. W-why don't you grab some of that?" Hiccup suggested, not liking the tight grip.

"Huh? Oh, fine. I'm fine." Mildew insisted. They flew through the lava pit and back to the place where Hiccup last saw Toothless and Midnight. However, when they arrived at the cell, they found it missing. "Toothless and Midnight are gone."

"Ah! Alvin must have moved him." Mildew suggested. They then flew through the pathway leading to the other cages and suddenly the cages holding the Scauldron and the Changewing opened, setting free two very angry dragons. Shocked Mildew and Hiccup looked up and saw Alvin standing at a safe height away from them.

"Let's see what you can do with some real wild dragons, Hiccup." He said as he pulled another lever to release the Whispering Death.

Now surrounded by three angry dragons, Hiccups' brain worked fast to come up with a plan. He suddenly got one. "Mildew, whatever happens in the next minute, do exactly what I tell you." He instructed.

"Why?" Mildew questioned, but changed his mind when the Changewing shot acid near him. "Uh, I'm all ears."

They then flew on the Deadly Nadder around the area to avoid getting bitten by the Whispering Death, the acid from the Changewing and the boiling hot water from the Scauldron. Alvin was watching all this in amusement from a safe distance. The Whispering Death then dove underground.

"At least that one's gone." Mildew said, slightly relieved.

"Well, uh, not for long, actually." Hiccup said. Changewings shoot acid. Scauldrons fire boiling water. And Whispering Deaths hunt from underground."

The Nadder then began to run and was chased by the Scauldron and the Changewing. "Aah! Have you lost your mind?" Mildew yelled as he hung on to Hiccup for dear life. Just then, the Whispering Death decided to emerge from underground, just inches behind Hiccup, Mildew and the Nadder, resulting in it colliding with the Scauldron and Changewing.

This gave the trio a perfect opportunity to escape, much to the irritation of the Outcast chief who watched them leave. They got out and landed at a safe distance from the prison

"You know your dragons. I'll give you that." Mildew admitted.

"Hiccup!" A very familiar voice yelled. Hiccup turned to the source and found his sister and Midnight flying towards them. And she wasn't alone. The rest of the dragon riders, their dragons, Stoick, Gobber and Thornado were with them.

"Hicca!" Hiccup yelled back, relieved to see that Hicca was here and not stranded on the island and the Midnight was okay.

As soon as the group landed, Hicca leapt straight into her brothers' arms. "Oh, I am so glad you're okay! I should not have left you three back at that island." Hicca said.

"Don't say that, sis. I told you to do that for a reason. It made me feel a bit better knowing you weren't captured with us." Hiccup said.

"Oh, thank Thor you're all right." Stoick said to Hiccup as he walked to his children

"I am, but I don't know if I can say the same for Toothless." Hiccup said.

"And Mildew is on the back of your dragon." Tuffnut pointed out.

"I know." Hiccup said.

"Weird." Tuffnut commented.

"How in the world did _that_ happen?" Hicca asked, surprised but what she was seeing, but still mad at Mildew for luring them into the trap.

Gobber suddenly yanked Mildew off the Nadder by his tunic with his good hand and held the old man high up. "I should run you through right now." Gobber exclaimed, raising his prosthetic hammer.

To everyones' surprise, it was Hiccup who stopped his mentor. "No, no, no, Gobber! Gobber, no! He helped me escape. Dad, I owe Mildew my life."

That surprised everyone even more. "Getting weirder." Tuffnut commented.

"I'd never thought I'd hear this coming from you." Raeda said. "You definitely need to tell us what happened."

"I will." Hiccup promised. "Right now, I have to get to Toothless."

An idea then came to Hicca. "What if you don't have to go to Toothless?"

Astrid caught on. "You could bring him to you."

Understanding what the two girls were saying, Hiccup went to the edge of a nearby cliff, cupped his hands near his mouth and gave out a Night Fury call. A few seconds later, they heard another Night Fury call. Immediately, all the humans got on their dragons and flew to where the dragon roar came from.

Hiccup finally spotted his dragon. "There he is!" He exclaimed, pointing with a bug smile on his face. They landed and Hiccup ran off to his dragon.

"Toothle-" Hiccup was cut off when the male Night Fury tackled him and started licking him. Hiccup just chuckled. "Are you okay, bud?" Toothless nodded. "Oh, I am so sorry, Toothless. This was all my fault."

"You're not the only one to be blamed here, bro. Finding the 'Isle of Nights' and going there by ourselves was a mutual agreement." Hicca said as she and Midnight joined the guys.

Suddenly, Toothless started growling as he saw something in the distance. Midnight did the same, much to the Haddock twins confusion. "Whoa. What's the matter, bud?"

"What's wrong, girl?" Hicca asked Midnight.

"Hey there! Boy!" A voice they detested yelled. Hiccup, Hicca and the others turned to see Alvin on a cliff ledge.

"You weren't gonna leave before we finished our business, were you? That's what I would expect from one of Stoick's little runt." Alvin mocked.

Hiccup took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. He knew that Alvin was trying to bait him. Unfortunately Hicca didn't think of that as she glared at the Outcast chief. No one talks to her brother like that!

She then got on Midnight. Hiccup noticed what his sister was doing and started to panic. "Hicca, don't!"

But Hicca didn't listen to her brother as she and Midnight flew off to teach Alvin a lesson.

"Hicca, no! We got what we came for!" Stoick yell pleadingly as he watched his daughter fly into what he knew was a trap. After all, Alvin wasn't dumb enough to confront his enemies alone, especially when said enemies rode dragons.

"Do it, boy. I'm right here!" Alvin invited with his arms stretched wide and a sinister chuckle. As soon as Hicca and Midnight were at a good distance, Alvin gave a signal. "Now!"

The out of nowhere, a bola was shot at them, knocking them to the ground and binding them together, to the horror of their friends and family. Toothless roared as he saw his mate tied up.

"Hicca!" Hiccup cried as he watched the Outcast soldiers run to get his sister and her dragon.

"Dragons, everybody." Astrid ordered. They turned to their dragons, only to find them missing! Even Toothless wasn't with them.

"Uh, would love to, but as you can see..." Tuffnut trailed off.

"Trusting dragons. This is what it gets you." Mildew complained.

Raeda got annoyed at the old man. "Mildew, if you could just _stop_ complaining about just once-"

She got interrupted by Astrid. "Wait. Look!"

The humans looked up and saw their dragons flying towards Hicca and Midnight (except for Toothless who was running on foot). Toothless and Hookfang fired at the Outcasts to keep them from getting any closer. Barf and Belch sparked up a fire wall to protect Midnight and Hicca from the Outcasts.

"Yeah, we taught him that!" Tuffnut exclaimed proudly. He then turned to his sister. "We didn't teach them that, did we?" Ruffnut just shrugged. "I didn't think so."

Meatlug, Sparkfire, Toothless and Thornado continued to fire at the Outcasts to keep them back, while Stormfly and Hookfang swooped in and carried Hicca and Midnight away from there and back to the group.

Immediately after the two dragons set down the bounded girls, Snotlout and Gobber cut them free form their binds.

"Never do that again, sis." Hiccup said, coming to his sister.

"Trust me, I won't" Hicca said. She then looked at the returning dragons in amazement. "What happened? "

"The dragons saved you on their own." Fishlegs answered, also amazed.

"It's the first time that happened." Raeda noted.

"Looks like they took their training to a whole new level." Astrid commented.

"We can catch up later. Right now, we need to get out of here." Stoick urged as he saw more Outcasts charging after them. Everyone got on their own dragons while Gobber and Mildew got on the Nadder. With a sonic blast from Thornado to clear the path, the Berkians were able to make their escape.

Unfortunately, Mildew was hanging on to the tip of the Nadders tail.

"Mildew!" Hiccup shouted, alerting Gobber.

The dragon dentist turned to see the old man "Ah, for the love of Thor. Mildew, get back up here." Gobber tried to pull the old man up, but it was no good. "Don't you let go, old man."

But Mildew held a sad expression. "Tell the boy and girl I'm sorry." He said before he let go.

"Mildew!" Hiccup yelled. If it wasn't for Mildew, Hiccup would still be stuck in that cell. Hiccup couldn't just leave him to find off the Outcasts by himself.

"Go, Hiccup. You have to leave me." Mildew insisted as the Outcasts surrounded him.

"He's right, son. We can't help him now." Stoick said.

"We can come back for him later." Hicca suggested.

Reluctantly, Hiccup pulled Toothless out of there before the two of them got captured and the group headed back to Berk.

The Outcasts captured Mildew and brought him to Alvin. "Well, well." Alvin said as he and Mildew came face to face.

Mildews' worried expression suddenly turned into a smirk. "Not bad, eh?"

"Not bad at all." Alvin commented. "Now, tell me, Mildew. What did you learn from Stoick's boy about training dragons?"

"Oh, I learned plenty, Alvin. You're going to be very pleased." Mildew said, revealing that his double cross to Alvin was actually a trick to get Hiccup to teach him about earning dragons' trust!

There was a baa sound. "Why, there you are, Fungus." Mildew said to his sheep, which was revealed to be alright the entire time. You played your part well."

"You both did, Mildew. Tomorrow is a new day for the Outcasts." Alvin announced, earning cheers from the Outcasts.

Later, unaware that they had been duped by Alvin and Mildew, the Berkians made it back home.

In the Haddock Household, Hiccup and Hicca were getting rid of the fake notes on the Isle of Night. "We're sorry this map wasn't the real thing, guys." Hiccup said to Toothless and Midnight. "But, hey, there's nothing wrong with being one of the few of your kind, right?"

Midnight and Toothless warbled, but they sounded kind of sad.

Hicca understood why. "Are you guys upset because you two didn't find your kids there?"

The two Night Furies nodded.

"Don't worry you two. Hicca and I haven't given up on finding your kids, so neither should you two." Hiccup said.

"We will find them one day. After all, we did other impossible things these past few months." Hicca added.

The door opened and Astrid rushed in. "Would you guys come on?" Hiccup and Hicca looked at the blonde girl in confusion "Bork week? The parade?" She reminded them.

Realization came to them as they ran out with their dragons and Astrid

**_A family isn't just something you're born into. It's also the friends who stood with you. The ones who fought by your side._ **

The eight dragon riders were high in the sky with their dragons, pumped and ready to perform their first ever air show while the villager cheered them on from below.

**_You know that you'll be there for them, and they'll be there for you, for the battles that are yet to come._ **

What they didn't know that while they were happily enjoying the rest of Bork week, Alvin and Mildew decided to test Mildews' new found knowledge on earning dragons' trust on the Whispering Death. Alvin slowly and carefully placed his hand on the snout, indicating a bond formed. Alvin and Mildew then shared a sinister laugh, ready for an invasion on a certain island.


End file.
